


La Arquitecta

by ZVArmy



Category: Professional Wrestling, World Wrestling Entertainment
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-15
Updated: 2018-05-12
Packaged: 2019-03-05 08:33:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 85
Words: 236,483
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13384089
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZVArmy/pseuds/ZVArmy
Summary: Despite trying his best, Seth Rollins never made it back to the top of the mountain after being forced to relinquish the WWE Championship due to injury. Then it occurred to him that there might be another way. Enter Zelina Vega, the architect of the new Seth Rollins.





	1. Chapter 1

__

_A/N: I have ignored the ban on Seth Rollins' Curb Stomp for the purposes of this story because I consider banning it to be ridiculous._

* * *

Seth Rollins and Finn Balor were lying flat on their backs in the middle of the ring. They were competing in the penultimate contest of the Raw brand's Elimination Chamber pay-per-view – a no disqualification match to determine the number one contender for the WWE Universal Championship.

"Both men are down!" Michael Cole called out on commentary. "Finn Balor and Seth Rollins are giving this match everything they have."

"As well they should," Corey Graves said. "One of these men will be going to Wrestlemania to face the winner of the Elimination Chamber match, which is coming up next, for the Universal Title."

Meanwhile, Balor and Rollins were both slowly getting up, on opposite sides of the ring. Back on their feet, they ran at each other, both desperate to gain the advantage in the contest that was of vital importance to their future chances of success. It was Finn who seized the upper hand, connecting with a Slingblade. After delivering the move, Balor remained down for a moment, needing more time to try and recover.

"Balor trying to get his second wind," Booker T said. "The fans are willing him on here."

"Quite honestly, I think they're cheering for both of these men, but Finn Balor is only a Coup de Grace away from going to Wrestlemania!" Cole said, hyping it up.

Just then, as Finn had lifted himself back to his knees, someone else appeared in the ring as if from nowhere. The mystery arrival sprinted straight at Finn and leaped into the air, hitting him with a spike hurracanrana, driving him face first into the mat.

"What the hell?" Who the… What was that?" Cole yelled as the crowd howled in disgust.

Booker cried out, "That was right in front of the referee! But there's no disqualification."

Only as the attacker left the ring did the camera crew manage to get a decent shot of the new arrival. "Wait, that's Zelina Vega!" Graves exclaimed. "Zelina Vega! She's from NXT!"

Zelina stood outside the ring, looking back at the apparently unconscious Balor with a broad, but cruel-looking smile on her face. It was a face of evil if ever there was one. The look in her eyes confirmed that fact quite clearly.

"The former manager of Andrade 'Cien' Almas, Zelina Vega is here! But why? Why did she hit Finn Balor with a hurracanrana?" Cole demanded angrily.

Seth had managed to get back to his feet. Looking over at his opponent, who was groggily trying to lift himself up off the canvas again, he saw the perfect opportunity presenting itself. He ran over and delivered his finishing move.

"Curb Stomp!" Cole called out.

Going into the match, both men had been babyface characters, so the crowd joined in with the count when Rollins made a cover, despite the interference that had just taken place on his behalf.

"One!"

"Two!"

"Three!"

"Seth Rollins has done it!" Graves announced. "Rollins is going to Wrestlemania, to challenge for the Universal Championship!"

"But why did Zelina Vega attack Finn Balor?" Booker demanded to know. "Balor looked like he had the match won until Vega appeared."

"Where did she even come from?" Cole added.

While he had been asking the question, Zelina had climbed back into the ring. She marched straight past Balor without so much as a hint of sympathy, not even bothering to look down at him. Seth was the only person she had interest in. As he stood there, almost doubled over, trying get his breath back after the gruelling contest, she walked up to him and started saying something to him in a very aggressive manner, pointing her finger in his face. It wasn't altogether clear if she was forming an alliance with him, or giving him a lecture.

That question was answered when Seth nodded his agreement to whatever she had said to him. With that done, Zelina grabbed hold of his right forearm and triumphantly raised it in victory.

"What's going on?" Cole asked, clearly not liking it at all. "Zelina Vega used to manage Andrade 'Cien' Almas until he was ruled out of several months of action by injury. Is Seth Rollins her new client? Is that what we're seeing here?"

"I think it is," Graves said a lot more enthusiastically as the end of the match began to be replayed on the screen. "And if it is, Vega already came through big time for Rollins. As you see here, it looked like Balor had this match in the bag until he was on the receiving end of this hurracanrana by Zelina Vega, smashing him face first into the mat."

Booker took up the narrative as the replay went on. "Ever the opportunist, Seth Rollins capitalised; hitting the Curb Stomp and getting the three count."

Graves said, "Whether you like the way he did it or not, Rollins just booked himself a main event match at Wrestlemania." The replay disappeared, being replaced on the screen by a zoomed-in shot of Vega's face, nodding her approval of what had taken place, with a smug grin on her face. "And it was largely thanks to that woman right there. Has Seth Rollins hired Zelina Vega as his manager? If so, why?"

"Those are great questions," Cole said frankly. "I can't wait to find out the answers. Hopefully we get them tomorrow night, on Monday Night Raw."

To end the segment, the camera shot changed to show Finn Balor, who was still out cold following the double whammy of finishing moves he had taken in quick succession. Booker said, "Something tells me Finn Balor is going to want those answers even more than we do."


	2. Chapter 2

_Six days earlier_

Arriving at an arena for Monday Night Raw for the first time had been a moment of mixed emotions for Zelina Vega. Excitement was of course the primary emotion. There was only one reason Vince McMahon would have ordered her to be there: she was going to be called up from NXT to the main roster. It was unfortunate that the promotion had been made possible by her former on-screen client Andrade Almas picking up an injury that would rule him out of several months of action, but there was nothing Zelina could do about that.

The conflicting emotion she was experiencing was nervousness. Not only was making the main roster a big jump in terms of the audiences she would be performing in front of most of the time, it would also obviously mean that, since she played a manager, she would have a new 'client' to work with. There was no telling who, or what, Vince might have in mind for her. She just hoped that she wasn't going to be landed with something stupid that would actually end up setting her career back instead of moving it forward. That was definitely a possibility, as evidenced by several past NXT call ups that had turned out to be failures due to poor creative and booking.

Which direction she might be heading in would become a lot clearer momentarily, since she was standing outside the Chairman's office. Closing her eyes for a second, Zelina slowly took in a deep breath for confidence. This would be the first time she had exchanged more than a few words in passing with Vince McMahon, since she had been working under Hunter Helmsley during her time on NXT. Feeling as ready as she was likely to get, she knocked on the door, trying to make the knock sound confident.

The door was opened after just a couple of seconds, by Hunter Helmsley of all people. The fact that he was there was a big relief to Zelina. It gave her the sense that she had a friendly face in her corner. On reflection, she realised that she probably should have expected it. Hunter likely did this for all of 'his' people when he handed them over to Vince's sphere of influence.

"Zelina, come in," Hunter said in friendly manner that was matched by the welcoming smile on his face. He was doing his best to put her at ease. Thankfully, it was working, to an extent at least.

"Zelina, good to see you," Vince boomed in his characteristic manner from behind his desk on the other side of the room. He gestured to one of the two surprisingly cheap-looking leather office chairs on her side of the desk. "Come and take a seat."

As she approached the desk, Vince rose slightly and offered his hand. "Good to see you, sir," she said politely as they shook hands. Due to the fact that she was unsure how he liked to be addressed, she had thought it best to choose the most formal option.

"Vince will do," he told her as he sat back down, and she did the same. Hunter joined them, taking the remaining seat. "I'm sure you know why you're here," Vince said to begin the meeting.

"You're calling me up to the main roster?" Zelina asked, thinking that she would have preferred not to have been put in the position of possibly sounding presumptuous.

"Correct," Vince said simply.

Hunter quickly stepped in before the Chairman could elaborate. "During your time on NXT, working with Andrade Almas, we were particularly impressed with your work. We hold you in the highest regard as a manager. For that reason, we're going to keep you in that role for the time being."

That was fine with Zelina. She had originally hoped to make it to WWE as a wrestler, but had still jumped at the chance to sign for NXT as a manager when the chance had been offered to her, since it was a way of getting her foot in the door. Once she had taken on the role, she had come to love it, and was now more than happy to continue working as a manager. As for being 'held in the highest regard', that was a huge statement. The only other manager she could think of in the company who that statement might apply to was Paul Heyman, and if they thought she was that even close to that good, she was certainly doing something right. "Thank you for the compliment, Hunter," she said with a smile. "It really means a lot to me to hear you say that."

Vince said, "You've got talent, and according to Hunter, you've got potential to improve even further. I've decided to go along with his judgment and present you with an opportunity to display both of those things. But," he added, raising a finger for emphasis, "I do need you to demonstrate both of them in making the most of the role I'm going to give you. Is that understood?"

"Vince, I'll do my best," Zelina guaranteed him sincerely. "I've wanted this chance for years, so I'm definitely going to do all I can to make the most of it now that it's here."

He nodded slowly, taking a moment to chew over that response. Trying to gauge his reaction, she thought that maybe he liked it. "Okay then," he said eventually, as if some kind of final decision might have been reached in his mind.

Zelina realised that she was about to learn who she was going to be assigned to work with. She felt her stomach tensing up in anticipation.

"We're going to put you with Seth Rollins," Vince revealed.

Holy shit, Zelina thought, knowing she had failed to hide her surprise from the man sitting opposite her. They were putting her with one of the best wrestlers in the damn company. A main event guy. A potential Universal Championship guy. She was going in at the deep end.

"Think you can handle it?" Vince asked, in a fairly obvious attempt to test her.

"Yes, sir. Absolutely," she assured him, without sounding arrogant or over-confident about it.

"I know you can," Hunter said. There was a subtle hint of pride in his voice which Zelina caught. It made her feel very grateful to him. It didn't take a master detective to realise the role Hunter had played in getting her this spot. Vince would hardly have been likely to come up with it for her by himself, in her judgement.

"Now that we're confident Rollins has put his injury problems behind him, we're putting him back in the Universal title picture," Vince informed her. "We're going with the fact that he never lost the WWE Championship, having to relinquish it due to injury, and he's never managed to get back to the top of the mountain since, despite everything he's tried. Even beating Hunter at Wrestlemania last year, which was supposed to be his stepping stone towards getting the title back, ended up not working out for him. So, having seemingly tried everything, he was at a loss. But then it occurred to him that there might be another way."

Hunter picked up the story. "Seth has been watching Zelina Vega on NXT, taking Andrade Almas from being a relative nobody to the NXT Champion in just a matter of months. And now, with him being injured, Ms Vega happens to be in need of a new client. You're going to be the architect of the new Seth Rollins, or La Arquitecta, as you'll also be known."

"Woah. I really love this," Zelina said genuinely, looking at each of them in turn. If she could have written a storyline for herself and had the company carry it out without question, she still might not have come up with something that pushed her as hard as this. She really was striking lucky, but at the same time, as Vince had already said, that brought pressure to perform.

"You're going to debut Sunday, at Elimination Chamber," Vince told her. "As you know, Rollins is facing Balor for the number one contender spot at Wrestlemania. You're going to help him get the win."

"That sounds amazing, thank you," she replied.

Hunter said, "We've already spoken to Seth about this and told him what our plans are."

"What did he think of the idea?" Zelina asked, suddenly wondering where she would be if Seth was against the idea of having a manager, or not keen to work with her specifically for whatever reason. To say it would make the experience awkward would be a major understatement.

"He liked it," Hunter said, to her relief. "He had asked to turn heel a couple of times before, since he thinks he works better as a heel than a babyface. Quite frankly, I agree, but we had to wait until the time was right to make it happen. We feel the time is right now, and this is the right idea with which to do it."

In an authoritative manner, Vince said, "So tonight, what you need to go is go find Rollins, introduce yourself to him, and start putting some ideas together for how you might help him get the win over Balor. We'll take your ideas into consideration Sunday, when the time comes to put the match together. Everything clear?"

Zelina nodded. "Yes. Perfectly clear. Shall I go do that now?"

"Unless you have any questions for us?" Hunter said.

She couldn't think of any. Whether that was a good or bad thing, she wasn't entirely sure. "No, no questions," she said with a smile that felt more nervous than she would have liked.

"Then that's all for now," Vince said with finality. The meeting was over. "We'll see you Sunday."

As Zelina thanked Vince and got up to leave, Hunter also rose. He walked her to the door and opened it for her.

"Thank you, Hunter," she said, making it perfectly clear that she meant for a lot more than opening a door. She owed everything she had achieved so far in WWE to him, and she knew it.

Hunter nodded acknowledgement and replied quietly, so that his words were only for the two of them. "This is the opportunity you worked for; that you deserve. Catch the ball, and run with it, you hear me?"

"Yes," she promised, feeling goosebumps appearing on her arms as she looked up at him. He was such a good teacher, mentor and boss.

"Good. See you Sunday."

"See you then," Zelina said before the door closed. Standing there in the hallway, she took a moment to try and process everything she had just been told. The turning point in her career was at hand. She had a real shot at making the big time, and she absolutely was not going to fuck it up. "Wow," she breathed, shaking her head slightly at the enormity of it all.

When the moment passed, she told herself to get her head in the game. Even though there were six days to go before her debut, there was still work to be done. As Vince had instructed, she needed to go and find her new on-screen client and introduce herself to him. Judging by most of what she had heard from colleagues who knew him, Seth was a nice enough guy. Pleasant in the locker room, and a hard and professional worker in the ring. That was the impression she had, both from what she had been told, and what she had seem of him in his performances. Those were characteristics she was now counting on, in a way, to allow her own career to progress. A manager and client team were as crucial to each other as members of a tag team were, in her opinion. She just had to hope that they clicked on a personal level. If they did, surely there was no limit to what they could achieve?

"Let's do this," she told herself, feeling full of determination.


	3. Chapter 3

"That's some heel turn," Roman Reigns said. He was sitting next to Seth Rollins in the men's babyface locker room, apparently for one of the last times for a while, as he had just found out when Seth had told him the new plans for his character.

"Yeah, it is," Seth agreed. "I've been asking for one for a while, as you know. Playing a face is all well and good, but I feel like I do my best work as a heel. It's also a good way to kick-start my character, since I've not been able to get anything going for some time now."

"Things really haven't gone to plan, have they?" Roman said, shaking his head. "Ever since they tried to put The Shield back together, it's been one thing after another. First I got sick, then Dean hurt his arm pretty much as soon as I came back."

"Then they put me with Jordan," Seth continued. "We win the tag titles, and a few weeks later he picks up an injury and they have us drop them back to Sheamus and Cesaro."

"It's you; you're bad luck to be around," Roman quipped.

"Don't say that. I'll start thinking it's true at this rate."

Roman paused to take a drink from the bottle of water he was holding. After he had finished it, a more serious expression appeared on his face.

"What?" Seth asked, prompting him to speak his mind.

"I was just thinking that I like the idea of putting a manager with you. I think it will work well."

"You saying I can't cut my own promos?" Seth demanded playfully.

"No," Roman chuckled. "But, like you said, you do your best work as a heel. That title run you had with J & J Security backing you up all the time was good."

"Well, the idea was. The booking was fishy at best. I was the champion, yet I was jobbing to people every week. It got really strange at one point. The whole cowardly heel bit I'm totally on-board with, but the champ shouldn't lose every week. There should be times where I succeed in cheating to win, or get out of matches by getting myself counted out. You know the kind of thing."

"Right. But if they're putting you over Balor, and putting Zelina with you, I think they'll have to book you stronger this time, assuming you get the belt at some point. Apart from anything else, it would make her look stupid if she's taken you on as a client and you keep losing. It would make zero sense to do that."

"You're right," Seth said, unable to find a flaw in that particular point. "What do you make of Zelina?" he asked next, after a pause. "I'm not sure I've ever even had a conversation with her. Might have bumped into her a time or two, maybe. But obviously I saw what a good job she did with Almas on NXT. You can see why they've called her up."

"You said it all yourself, man. I don't know her all that well myself. What I do know is that she's worked her ass off to make it to WWE. She worked for TNA years ago under a different name, then did a few years in the independents after that. I'm not sure why Hunter signed her on as a manager rather than a wrestler, but it's pretty obvious that she's taken the opportunity she was given and made the most of it."

"Now she's got another opportunity with this storyline," Seth said, contemplating it from his new on-screen partner's point of view. It was likely that Zelina was nervous about the whole thing. Not only had she made the main roster, she was being put straight into a main event level storyline, with one of the biggest names in the company. That wasn't arrogance on his part, it was simply true. Not only that, the person she was going to be working with was someone she didn't know.

"You okay?" Roman asked, having seen the far-away look on his friend's face.

Seth shook it off. "Sorry, yeah. I was just trying to picture this from Zelina's point of view. It has to be pretty daunting. I need to do my best to make sure things go smoothly between us. She must be dreading the possibility of me being uncooperative towards her, or even outright being an asshole."

"That's something she's just going to have to get used to," Roman chuckled.

"Very funny," Seth said, rolling his eyes. "Anyway, Hunter and Vince said they've told her to report here tonight, and they're going to get her in the office and tell her what the deal is. They want us to sit down at some point and figure out what we can do to debut her Sunday, helping me to get the W against Finn."

"Exciting times for both of us," Roman said happily. They moved on to talking about his upcoming match against Brock Lesnar at Wrestlemania, where Roman was expected by many to go over. That had not been confirmed by any of the higher-ups as yet, but Roman hoped that he would be given the win, and that it would be his ticket to also get back into the Universal title picture. "Maybe we'll even end up facing each other for the title at some point in the not too distant future?" he speculated.

"We can always hope."

Cesaro walked into the locker room at that moment and approached the two friends. "Seth, Zelina Vega is out there in the hallway asking to see you. She said she's been called up to be your manager. Sounds good," he opined, adding an appreciative smile for the idea.

"Thanks, I'm hoping it will be," Seth said as he got up. "I'll catch up with you guys later," he said to Roman and Cesaro, giving the latter a slap on the shoulder before heading for the door.

When he walked out of the locker room, Seth found Zelina waiting a few feet away, presumably so that it didn't look like she was creeping around the men's locker room, he thought with amusement. "Zelina, hi," he said in a friendly manner as he approached her, wanting to try and put her at ease from minute one.

"Hey, Seth. How are you?" Zelina replied with a striking smile.

"Really good, thanks. You?" he asked, noticing how much he towered over her. It wasn't hard, since she was only five feet tall. What Seth liked most about her, or her on-screen character at least, was that she was a feisty, sexy Latina. He liked that feistiness a lot. But did it reflect the woman behind the character?

"I'm doing good. Had a lot to take in today," she said, puffing her cheeks out a little in an attempt at humour.

Seth decided to set his stall out, and dispel any fears she might have about him not wanting to work with her. "Yeah, they've not held back with your call up, have they? But I'm glad they chose to put you with me. I like the idea of having a manager, I like the idea of turning heel, and I'm looking forward to working with you."

"Thank you," she said, not totally suppressing an air of relief. He had been right about she was feeling, he saw.

"So what do you say we go grab a coffee or something? We can get to know each other a bit, and we can talk toss around some ideas for Sunday's finish."

"Sounds great," she agreed with another smile.

Seth had the impression that she wasn't truly being herself. Instead, she was actively focusing on coming across as professional and pleasant. While he could totally understand it, he wanted her to get past that. He wasn't her boss, he was her colleague, and in some ways, now her partner as well. The ice needed to be broken. Hopefully it would happen quickly once they sat down in the catering area.

A few minutes later, they were taking seats on opposite sides of a table. Seth had a cup of coffee, while Zelina had gone for green tea.

"I've never tried that stuff," Seth said, referring to her drink.

"You should. It's really nice. I guess that's the first thing I should tell you about myself: I'm a vegan."

"I'm at totally the opposite end of the scale, I have to admit. I've always really enjoyed eating meat."

Zelina grinned at him over the top of her cup a she sipped from it. "Then I guess you're lucky I'm not one of those people who gets on a podium and starts preaching about how you should see the light."

"You could preach all you wanted, you'd be shouting into the abyss," he replied with a little smile of his own.

"Noted. No preaching." She took a lengthy sip from her tea.

Seth figured that she was giving him the opportunity to lead the conversation, possibly out of shyness. Since they had already shared some humour, he decided to keep on in that vein. "Come on then, you have one word to describe yourself."

"God," she sighed, cringing at the prospect.

"God? Okay," Seth said, pretending that had been her actual answer. "Nice and humble, at least."

Zelina laughed heartily, which he took as a very good sign. The ice was indeed being broken. "You know that's not what I meant. If I had to choose a word, I would have to say…" she paused for a few seconds to think. "Nerd," was the eventual decision.

Seth smiled at her selection. "Hey, there's nothing wrong with being a nerd these days. Why that word over anything else?"

"Because I love a lot of nerdy things," she shrugged. "I like video games, especially fighting games and shooters. And I like mobile games as well. I'm always on Pokémon Go. Then there are other things like cosplay and stuff. Pretty much anything you might call nerdy, I'm into it."

"I can't say I'm as much of a gamer as you are by the sound of it, although I do enjoy them when I get the chance. Cosplay is really cool, though. I've never actually done it myself, but I do like seeing other people's efforts. Alexa Bliss is good at it."

"Yeah, she is," Zelina agreed. "What about you then, Seth? You didn't give me one word to describe you."

Seth pondered his answer while drinking some of his coffee. "I'm going to have to cheat on my own question," he admitted. "The best answer I can come up with is two words."

"Oh, I see how it is. You make me go first, and I have to choose one word, then you can change the rules after the fact. They say it's best to make your on-screen character an extension of your real personality. I can see that with you already, doing sly things like that," she teased.

"Do I get my two words or not?" Seth asked, spreading his arms out in faux protest. He was glad that they were getting off to a good start. The first conversation with someone was always the hardest in his experience.

"Fine. You can have two words to describe yourself."

"Fitness freak," was his answer. "Crossfit is my thing. I'm literally in my element when I'm working myself as hard as I can."

"Right," she nodded. "I've seen some of your posts on Twitter and Instagram. I've never done Crossfit myself, but I obviously work out a lot. I've improved my fitness a fair amount over the past year. I've come to quite like getting a sweat on myself."

Seth nodded along with what she was saying, then pitched an offer. "If you did want to get into Crossfit, I'd be happy to help you get started. I got Bayley into it a few months ago and she loves it now."

"Thanks, Seth, I might take you up on that."

Talking about Bayley, his friend and occasional traveling buddy, made Seth think of another question. "Hey, do you have anyone to travel with? I just thought of it because I sometimes travel with Bayley."

"Actually, I don't. I've travelled with Andrade since I started with NXT, since we were obviously working together. He was good enough to make the offer on my first night, since he knew how crap it could be to travel alone."

"Then I'd be remiss if I didn't make the same offer," Seth said simply.

"Oh, that sounded so badly like I was dropping a hint, didn't it?" she said apologetically. "I wasn't trying to do that at all."

"Relax," he said, waving off her concern. "It makes sense for us to travel together anyway. Most on-screen partners do, as I'm sure you're aware. With that being said, I'm open to the idea if you are."

Zelina finished her green tea before committing herself to an answer. "Okay, let's do it. We'll split expenses equally?"

"Fifty fifty," he confirmed. "If you want to swap numbers, I'll look up which hotel I'm booked into Sunday night and let you know so that you can get into the same place."

"Alright." Zelina took out her phone and typed his number in as he read it out. After saving it, she called it so that he would have a missed call from her number.

If only getting phone numbers from women as hot as Zelina had always been that easy, Seth thought. Then he quickly told himself not to start thinking like that about her. She was a colleague, and a brand new one at that. Besides, he didn't even know if she was single. She was fully hot though, there was doubt about it. "We should probably talk about Sunday's match," he said, to stop his mind heading down the track it was threatening to as much as to move the discussion forward.

"Okay," she agreed. "Vince said he wanted us to come up with a way to debut me and help you beat Finn. We've got to put it to him before the show, and if he likes it, I think he'll let us go with it."

"I've got good news on that front. When they had me in the office earlier to confirm that I was getting the heel turn I'd asked for, and that I was going to be working with you, they told me that they're giving the Curb Stomp back to me."

"Yes!" Zelina exclaimed. "I never understood why they stopped you using it to start with. But be that as it may, it's great that you have it back. It's such a good finish, especially for a heel guy."

"Agreed. Needless to say, that means we need the return of the Curb Stomp to be what ends the match against Finn. But before that, we need to bring you in somehow."

A thoughtful expression appeared on her face. "What if Finn hit the Coup de Grace on you, then when he makes the cover I appear from nowhere and pull the referee out before he can make the three count?"

"Hmmm, not bad, but not great," Seth said, leaning back in his chair as he considered options. "I do like the appearing from nowhere aspect of it, but I think we need to make your debut a bigger deal than dragging a referee under the bottom rope to save a pin." He could tell right away that she loved hearing that. He had convinced her that he really did see them as a team, rather than treating her as someone who there to make him look good. Some of the guys might have acted that way, but it wasn't in his nature to go into business for himself.

"There's always my spike hurracanrana," she suggested after a moment.

Seth clicked his fingers together and pointed at her in approval. "Yes. That's the one. Let's say Finn has the upper hand, and looks like he could be about to get the win. He hits a move on me, but suddenly there you are in the ring out of nowhere. You hit him with the hurracanrana, which just happens to be a really good setup for the Curb Stomp anyway. It's simple, but very effective. It shows right from the start how big a help Zelina Vega can be to her new client, and that's a very important message to get across."

"So, we have a plan?" she asked, smiling broadly.

Seth nodded. "We have a plan. Now we just have to hope they let us use it."


	4. Chapter 4

Making her way to the arena's parking garage after the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view, the first thing Zelina had in mind was to thank Seth for making things a lot easier for her than they might otherwise have been. Probably the kindest thing he had done was offer her the chance to travel with him. In a job that required so much traveling, having to do so alone until she became friendly enough with someone to join them, assuming they didn't have existing arrangements, would not have been the most pleasant experience in the world. But Seth had taken those worries away from her with his kind invite.

That was not all, either. In the brief meeting they had been called to before the event, Seth had taken the lead in describing the potential finish they had put together on Monday night, and had made a point of attributing most of the work to her. It had been clear that both Hunter and Vince had liked hearing that, and she had the impression that Seth had bought her even more credit with the bosses. So far, he was proving to be a very good partner, and that had her feeling very optimistic about their future as a team, which was what they essentially were.

Getting off to a good start in relation to work was one thing, but they had only made initial progress in the quest to get to know each other on a personal level. She hoped that the journey back to the hotel would allow them to make further inroads in that regard.

As she approached the parking garage, she saw Seth waiting just inside the building with his travel case. "I was worried it might be a longer wait than that," he said jovially while she approached him.

"Nope. I'm a good timekeeper," she grinned as she stopped in front of him.

"I'll hold you to that," he said more seriously. "I have to admit, I'm not patient when it comes to waiting."

"Okay," she said in a very serious manner. "I'll try and keep my morning makeup sessions down to a couple of hours."

"Good job I know you're joking," Seth said dryly, leading the way out into the parking lot. "So, what are we doing about splitting the driving?"

"I'm easy," she shrugged. "Just say when you want me to do it."

"Fair enough. We're just over here." He walked over to a black Ford and pressed the button on the key fob to pop the trunk.

"Thank you," she said when he picked up her case without being asked and put it in the trunk. Apparently good manners came naturally to him; another positive sign. In her experience, the same certainly could not be said for all wrestlers.

"No worries," he replied as he loaded his own case into the car. With that, he slammed the lid closed and went around to the driver's door. "The hotel isn't far away. I've stayed there before."

Zelina got in the passenger seat and let out a small sigh. Positive experience or not, it was still nice in a way to be able to put her first night on the main roster behind her. The previous few days had been all about nervous anticipation for her. Now that was over with, she could try and feel more at ease about the coming shows.

"You okay?" Seth asked as he started the car.

"Yeah, I'm good. I was just thinking that I spent a lot of time this week feeling nervous about tonight. Now it's over, and it went off exactly how we planned. Plus you really put me over in front of Vince and Hunter, telling them the finish was my idea. I have to thank you for that."

Seth concentrated on looking for a gap in traffic so that he could pull out of the garage, but he carried on the conversation. "It was your idea. You said you could use your hurracanrana to set me up for the Curb Stomp. It worked perfectly in the ring. Honestly, I think that's a combo we can use again."

"Even so, you didn't have to put me over the way you did. I could tell they liked what they heard, so thank you. It could help me a lot moving forward."

Pulling out onto the busy road, Seth said nothing for a moment. Merging into traffic and getting across into the lane he needed required his full attention. "Vince is more open to hearing ideas than people give him credit for," he said eventually. "If you have something that you think can improve a segment, speak up and we can go see him together."

"Sure," Zelina agreed, happy that he seemed to want them to act as a cohesive unit as much as possible.

They settled into a silence that felt quite comfortable to her. She searched for a subject with which to start a conversation. Since they barely knew each other yet, business was the only thing that came to mind. "I was surprised they had Braun win the chamber match. It's going to be interesting to see how they book a Wrestlemania main event rivalry between us and him."

She saw him give a flicker of a smile at her use of the word us. Maybe he liked the fact that she sounded more comfortable thinking of them as a team. Or maybe there was more to it than that, she wondered. What if he liked the idea of them being more than that?

What a stupid thing to think, she told herself angrily, wondering why the hell the thought had even entered her head. Of course he wasn't thinking anything like that. Why would he be, when they barely even knew each other? It was only the second night they had even worked together for God's sake. Just because she happened to find him attractive, and happed to be warming to his personality, did not mean that he felt the same way about her. It certainly didn't mean he wanted anything to happen between them. That was crazy talk.

To make matters worse, she realised that in chastising herself for her inappropriate thought, she had missed his response. "Sorry?" she asked, somehow managing to hide her embarrassment.

Seth glanced at her with a curious expression on his face, clearly not understanding how she had failed to hear him. Their eyes met for a half second, and she felt sure she had given away what she had been thinking to him.

"I said it's not going to be the main event," he said, showing no signs of any ability to mind read, much to Zelina's relief. "At least, I can't see them having us main event. They had Nakamura win the rumble so he could face AJ, and they're going for Roman and Brock. I'd be surprised if we're ahead of either of those two matches on the card."

"You might be right," she conceded, glad that she had made it through the awkward moment with her dignity intact. "Even so, it's going to be one of the high profile matches, and Braun is a unique guy to work with for sure."

"That's the truth," Seth chuckled. "I'd better get my cowardly act on point, because I can see a lot of this build involving me running away from the guy."

Zelina laughed. "With me not far behind you."

"Right," Seth said, also laughing at the image of them both running for their lives from the huge monster. "The mystery for me is what they're going to do with Finn. They wrote him threatening me that I'd better hope I make it to Wrestlemania, so it sounds like we're going to be working with him as much as we are with Braun."

"You think they might end up making it a triple threat?" she wondered.

"Possibly. Even then, I don't see a way Braun doesn't go over. They just put the belt on him. He's surely not dropping it after a month."

"Unlikely," Zelina had to agree. "It would be pushing us a bit hard if my services got you to the top that quickly anyway."

"The hotel is just up here," Seth said, pointing it out through the windshield. Their imminent arrival had brought the conversation about booking to an abrupt end.

"You were right, that really wasn't far from the arena."

"It's not a bad place, either. If I remember correctly, they do a nice fruit salad at breakfast. I assume you'll join me?"

"Absolutely," Zelina said with a nod. "I'd much rather that than sit there like a loner."

Seth laughed once. "That's how it is? You'll eat with me because I'm the only option?"

"You know that's not what I meant."

Seth grinned as he slowly turned the car into the hotel's parking lot. "I should warn you that I'm an early riser. I usually eat a light breakfast like that, go work out for an hour, then go grab a coffee and something a bit more filling to eat before I get on the road to the next town, or get on the bus if they're providing one."

He had parked the car, so Zelina replied as they both got out. "That works for me. I'm not much of a morning eater, so something light is perfect for me. And coffee, of course. Always coffee."

"Always coffee," Seth echoed to confirm his agreement. He opened the trunk and lifted their cases out. "Have you put any thought into Crossfit? No pressure; just asking."

"I have, actually," she said, walking beside him over towards the hotel's entrance. "I'd like to give it a try, if you're still up for helping me get started. You might have to be a bit patient with me."

"Not a problem," he assured her. "Everyone takes a while to get into the swing of it. I know I did. No one's going to judge you, regardless of what pace you progress at. Ask Bayley if you're really not sure. She was very nervous about getting into it, but now she loves it. I meant it when I said I was happy to help you."

"Thank you, Seth," Zelina said, giving him one of her best smiles as he held the hotel's door open for her and she walked past him.

They checked in at the reception desk, then made their way to the elevators. It turned out that they were both on the fourth floor. "A couple of days off after tomorrow," Seth said to make conversation while they ascended. "Are you heading home?"

Zelina nodded. "Yep. Back to Orlando."

"Me too. I think pretty much everyone on the roster lives there."

"We'll have to start booking flights together then," she suggested. "If you want to, that is."

"I'm up for it if you are. You can deal with my airport stalkers," he added as a joke.

"Oh, can I now?" she enquired with raised eyebrows.

"You're my manager; it's your job," Seth said cheekily as they exited onto the fourth floor.

"No one said anything about dealing with airport stalkers. I might resign."

"Aww," Seth groaned theatrically, making her laugh. Before she could respond, he said, "This is me," and stopped in front of the door with his room number on it. "I'll text you in the morning about breakfast. Is six am good for you?"

"Six is fine. Text me," she smiled.

"Will do. Goodnight," he said warmly.

"Night, Seth." With that, she walked on towards her own room. When she heard his door click closed, she sighed quietly, wishing she'd had the courage to ask him if he wanted to go down to the bar for a drink or something to round the night off. She felt like she would have enjoyed spending more time with him.

"Get a hold of yourself," she growled quietly. "You just met the guy, and he's not interested in you."


	5. Chapter 5

The gym was somewhere Seth always felt like he was in his element. Crossfit training programs were hard work, but in that hard work lay the reward. After an hour long session, he always felt the burn brought on by pushing his body close to its limits. It was that commitment to training that made him one of the fittest people in WWE.

Helping others to get into Crossfit was also something Seth found rewarding. He had experienced that with Bayley, who was now almost as avid about it as he was. Zelina was hopefully the next name to be added to his list of converts. They had just completed their first ten minute session together, designed to warm them up for some more intensive exercise. To his surprise, once he had seen her in her gym gear, he had realised she was in better shape than he had imagined. She was very well toned, and had great looking abs. It had been hard to avoid staring, but he had found the self-control to tell himself that he was there to help her train, not to look at her as eye candy.

"Okay, kettlebell swings," he said. "Have you done them before?"

"I don't think so," Zelina said, brushing a stray strand of hair away from her face. She added a smile that had an air of shyness about it. It was the second time he had seen that smile since they had arrived at the gym. The first had been when he had joined her outside the locker rooms, and had felt sure her eyes had lingered on his shirtless body for a second longer than necessary.

"Don't worry, I'll show you how to do them," he said, trying his best to put her at ease. He fetched a suitably-sized kettlebell for each of them, then demonstrated how to correctly perform the exercise.

"Okay, let me try." Zelina tried to copy his stance, then put the kettlebell on the floor between her legs. She crouched down to pick it up, lifted it, then raised it out in front of her and held it for a moment, tensing her core to take the strain.

"Not bad," Seth opined, having put his own kettlebell aside for a moment so that he could help her. "Try and lift with the power of your legs more than your arms." Standing right beside her, he put a hand on her stomach and one on her back to adjust her stance slightly. "And try and keep your back straighter, like that."

While he was speaking, he had felt her quiver at his touch. For the briefest of moments, he had wondered if she had been uncomfortable with him touching her. But no, he realised as they made eye contact, it was totally the opposite of that. A real surge of sexual tension washed over him, as did a strong whiff of her sweet-smelling perfume, which only made things worse for him.

"Like this?" she asked softly, allowing him to guide her.

"Uh, yeah," he replied, taking his hands away. It had been a brief, but very powerful moment. Now he knew for sure that she was attracted to him, as he was to her. There could be no doubt about it, since the air between them had almost been crackling with electricity. He had to take a breath and actively force his body to calm down before he ended up with a very embarrassing erection.

Do not go down that road, he told himself firmly. Not because relationships or affairs with colleagues were a bad idea per se – they were more like an inevitability in WWE. The problem in this case was the timing, and how that would lead to it being perceived by others. Zelina had been brought up to be his manager only a week ago - their first on-screen appearance happening only the previous night. Some people would jump to the conclusion that he was using his position as a main event guy to take advantage of her status as a new main roster graduate if he slept with her and the news went around the locker room. As he was a strong believer in not treating women like that, having his colleagues thinking that he had done so was something he couldn't abide. Plus there was the fact that Vince and Hunter would hardly look kindly on it, either. They would expect him to show more restraint and responsibility than that, and rightly so.

"Seth?" Zelina asked. It was obvious from her tone that she had said something before that he had totally blanked while lost in his thoughts.

"Sorry, what?"

"I asked how that one was. Better?"

"Yeah, uh, much better," he said, even though he hadn't been paying any attention to her exercising. He realised that he was doing an appalling job of covering up what he was really thinking.

A sheepish expression appeared on Zelina's face. "I'm sorry, Seth. I didn't mean to make things awkward, I just…" She let her voice trail off as she ran out of words. She obviously wasn't prepared to be truthful and say that she loved the feel of his hands on her bare back and stomach, although he knew full well that had been the case.

"No, my fault," he floundered. "I shouldn't have touched you without asking first."

"Oh, no, I'm not saying that. You didn't do anything inappropriate. If anything…" She stopped herself suddenly, not wanting to finish the thought.

Seth nodded as she spoke, glad to hear that she didn't consider him to have been inappropriate. But then she had left those last two words hanging out there. If she gone on to say she wanted him to touch her some more, which he suspected was where she had been heading, he was sure he wouldn't have been able to resist taking her up on the offer. "Shall we, uh, keeping going with the workout?" he suggested weakly, willing the moment to pass.

"Yeah, I think we should."

* * *

_Monday Night Raw – 26_ _th_ _February 2018 (Part one)_

After Michael Cole welcomed the audience to the show, Seth Rollins' music hit, drawing something of a mixed reaction from the crowd. Apparently the events at the end of the number one contendership match the previous night had not been enough to get much heat on him.

"Here comes Seth Rollins, with Zelina Vega by his side," Cole announced. "Gentlemen, I'm glad these two are coming out here, because I'd like to hear an explanation as to what we saw last night at the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view."

"I think it's pretty obvious what we saw," Corey Graves said as Seth and Zelina made their way down the entrance ramp. "Zelina Vega was well known on NXT as possibly the best manager in the business. Since Zelina showed up last night and helped Seth get the win over Finn Balor, in a match that was no disqualification, I might add, I would we can reach the conclusion that Seth has availed himself of her services."

Booker T said, "If that's the case, and I have to agree that's how it seems, this could be a huge deal for Seth Rollins. After Vega aided him in getting the victory last night, he is now guaranteed a match at Wrestlemania for the WWE Universal Championship, which was won in the Elimination Chamber by Braun Strowman."

"That may be the case, but I'm not sure Finn Balor is going to be happy at being cheated out of a match that he appeared to have well in hand before Zelina Vega interfered," Cole countered.

Seth and Zelina had entered the ring, and had both taken microphones from Jojo. Seth began the promo by laughing, in the manner that many people had found so annoying during his previous run as a heel. "I'm going to Wrestlemania!" he proclaimed triumphantly. That got him some more boos, while Zelina nodded her appreciation of the simple fact he had stated.

"You might be wanting to ask the same thing people have been asking me since last night," he went on. "Why, Seth? Why have you aligned yourself with Zelina Vega? Why did you cheat to win against Finn Balor at Elimination Chamber? I'll deal with that question first, since it's an easy one to answer. I didn't cheat against Finn Balor. He challenged me to make the match no disqualification, and I accepted. Since there was no disqualification, I beat him fair and square in accordance with the rules. It's as simple as that."

"Oh, please," Cole said sarcastically.

"Now, onto the more important question," Seth said. "Why have I chosen to hire Zelina Vega as my manager? The truth of it is that I was sick. Sick of working my ass off night after night, and getting nowhere. I was forced to relinquish the WWE Championship due to injury in 2015, and I haven't managed to get back to the top of the mountain since. I tried everything, from trying to align myself with Triple H, to beating Triple H at Wrestlemania. I even tried reforming The Shield, but nothing worked. Redesign, rebuild, reclaim; that was what I said I was going to do. I redesigned Seth Rollins, I rebuilt Seth Rollins, but I was never able to reclaim my spot. But then, when all hope seemed to be fading, I realised that there might be another way." He paused to look at Zelina, who gave a self-satisfied grin at the fact that he was referring to her.

"I saw a manager on NXT who had the ability to take her client from being a total nobody, to winning the NXT Championship in the space of a few months. I realised that was the kind of person I needed in my corner. Then, while I was considering my options, the planets aligned and Zelina's previous client picked up an injury, leaving her available. We had discussions, and Zelina said she would agree to take me on as a client, but if she did so, I would have to face up to the fact that to get to where I wanted to be from where I currently was, it would be necessary to take some unpleasant medicine. What she meant by that was that it was necessary to redesign Seth Rollins once again. Therefore, I give to you the architect of the new Seth Rollins, Zelina Vega!"

Zelina stepped forward a little to take centre stage. She attracted more heat than Seth had, possibly because she was being portrayed as the person who was going to turn him heel. "That's right," she said loudly over the hostile reception. "I am the architect of the new Seth Rollins. From now on, you will refer to me as La Arquitecta."

"La Arquitecta?" Cole asked sceptically. "I'm not sure I like the idea of the new Seth Rollins; not if Vega is the one behind it."

"No one cares what you like, Cole," Graves reminded him.

In the ring, Zelina had waited for the fans to show her some respect before she continued speaking. "Unpleasant medicine is how I described the process of redesigning Seth Rollins to him. Let me explain to you exactly what that 'medicine' involves, because I know most of you are not exactly quick on the uptake." More boos came her way, which she responded to by impatiently raising her eyebrows.

"This is exactly what I mean," she said eventually, gesturing at the crowd. "For the past year or more, Seth has been out here week after week, pandering to you idiots. And where did that get him? The same place it ever gets anyone: nowhere. Well, it will not happen anymore," she said with real finality. "The new Seth Rollins I am creating is not out here to please you. He is out here to do one thing, and one thing only, which is to win the WWE Universal title. If anyone doubts how effective the new Seth Rollins will be, all I have to say is look at what has already been achieved, after just one night under my guidance. We already have a Universal title match at Wrestlemania in our pockets. Now all we need to do is walk into the Superdome in New Orleans on April 8th, beat Braun Strowman, and walk out with the Universal title."

"Oh, that's all, is it?" Booker T asked, laughing.

"I believe the new Seth Rollins can do it, with Ms Vega in his corner," Graves opined. "Like she said, he already beat Finn Balor."

Just as Graves said his name, Finn's music hit, bringing the majority of the fans to their feet. He marched out onto the stage and headed for the ring without any of the usual showboating. The expression he had on his face provided the explanation for that.

"Here comes Finn Balor now!" Cole called out. "And judging by the look on his face, I would say he's feeling a lot less than happy about what happened last night at Elimination Chamber."

"That's a shame," Graves replied without even a hint of sympathy.

Seth and Zelina were shown in the ring, exchanging words. They were clearly not pleased with the interruption.

Microphone in hand, Finn rolled under the bottom rope and addressed Seth without even waiting for his music to finish fading out. "Rollins, we have unfinished business. Everyone in this arena saw what went down last night. We all know, including you, that I had you beat, until your new little puppet master there showed up and hit me with that hurracanrana. The fact of the matter is this: You did not beat me," he said stridently. "And since you didn't beat me, you are not the number one contender, as far as I'm concerned."

The diminutive Zelina was not afraid to get right in Finn's face, aggressively pointing her finger at him as she fired back. "Then it's a good thing that how you're 'concerned' is irrelevant, isn't it? Seth beat you in the middle of the ring last night. One, two, three," she said emphatically, counting them off on her fingers right in front of his face. "End of story."

"End of story?" Finn asked, taking even further offense at her attitude. "We'll see about that. Rollins, I say stop hiding behind her, so you and I can take care of business right here, right now. We'll see which one of us able to go to Wrestlemania." He dropped his microphone and started taking off his leather jacket.

Before the situation could descend into violence, Kurt Angle's music began to play. "Wait! Stop right there!" he ordered as he walked out onto the stage. "Finn, back off, right now."

Reluctantly, Balor did as ordered, turning around to find out what Kurt had to say for himself.

"The fact of the matter is, and believe me, I know this isn't what anyone wants to hear, is that Seth was right in what he said a minute ago. Finn, you challenged him to make the match at Elimination Chamber no disqualification. He accepted, and under no disqualification rules, he did beat you in a legal manner, even with interference from Zelina Vega."

The fans booed that verdict loudly, as Finn shouted his own protests at Angle. But the General Manager was not done.

"With that being said, Seth Rollins is the rightful number one contender, and will go on to face to Braun Strowman at Wrestlemania."

More boos rained down, while both Seth and Zelina smirked at Finn, who had turned back to face them. They were feeling very pleased with themselves.

Finn picked his microphone back up and said, "Well, in that case, Seth, you'd better hope you make it to Wrestlemania." The crowd cheered what was obviously a threat as he dropped the mic again and left the ring.

"That's exactly what I was thinking," Kurt said from up on the stage. "Because, while your victory was legal, Seth, I don't like people doing business like that on my show. For that reason, I think a message needs to be sent. That's why tonight, you will go one on one with Samoa Joe."

That brought the fans back on to Kurt's side immediately. They loudly cheered the prospect of Seth getting a beating from Joe, while Zelina and Seth were shown raging at the General Manager, not that there was any point, since he was already heading for the back, with his music playing.

From the bottom of the entrance ramp, Finn was shown sending some more threats in Seth's direction.

Cole announced, "The so-called new Seth Rollins goes one on one with Samoa Joe tonight. Let's see what 'La Arquitecta' is going to do about that, shall we?" he asked, using her new name in a mocking manner.

"Kurt Angle is out of order," Graves countered. "Finn Balor was the one coming out here stepping out of line. He should have been the one given a punishment, not Seth Rollins."

"Our General Manager didn't see it that way," Booker said. "Rollins – Joe, tonight."

Booker laughed. "I think the only punishment Finn is going to be involved in is what's going to happen if he gets his hands on Rollins before Wrestlemania. Zelina Vega's actions have put a big target on her client's back."


	6. Chapter 6

_Monday Night Raw – 26_ _th_ _February 2018 (Part two)_

Renee Young had just finished a backstage interview with Sheamus and Cesaro. She was part way through handing back to the commentary team when her attention was caught by somebody else.

"Wait a second," she said as the cameraman turned to show Zelina Vega marching in Renee's direction with a venomous expression on her face. "Zelina? Zelina, can I get a word, please?"

Renee was totally ignored. Zelina charged right past her, obviously with some other objective in mind. The camera panned around as she walked by to follow her, and her destination became apparent. She slammed open a door which bore the name Kurt Angle, and banged it closed again behind her.

"I guess not," Renee said, raising her eyebrows.

* * *

After a commercial break, Kurt Angle's door was shown once more. It flew open and Zelina emerged, somehow looking even more angry than she had before.

"Zelina? Can I ask what you wanted with Kurt Angle?" Renee asked, standing in the way this time, so that Seth Rollins' manager couldn't get past so easily.

With a microphone thrust in her face, Zelina spoke in a threatening manner, "Stop me walking again, Renee, and see what happens."

"I'm just doing my job," Renee said in a placating tone. "Can you please tell me what you wanted with the General Manager?"

"What do you think I wanted?" Zelina snapped. "I wanted him to change his stupid and unfair decision to make my client Seth Rollins face Samoa Joe tonight."

"And what was the answer?"

Zelina's expression turned sour in the extreme. "Angle said the decision stands. So if Seth gets hurt tonight, we know we can blame, don't we? Now get out of my way!"

Renee grimaced at the camera while Vega stormed off along the hallway.

* * *

To begin the show's second hour, Seth and Zelina were shown walking along a hallway, neither of them looking happy in the least with how their night was going.

"There's Seth Rollins, on the way to the ring, set to take on Samoa Joe momentarily," Cole said.

Graves was about to add something, but Finn Balor ran into the shot from behind Seth and clotheslined him in the back of the head, knocking him down. "Wait! Finn Balor! Balor attacking Rollins from behind! What is this about?"

With Zelina screaming and shouting angry protests, Balor pummelled the fallen Rollins, who could only try and protect his face with his arms.

"Finn told Seth he'd better hope he can make it to Wrestlemania," Booker reminded everyone. "It looks to me like Rollins and Vega should have taken that threat seriously."

"No! No!" Zelina yelled at the top of her voice as Finn hauled Seth to his feet and ran him towards a steel roller shutter door. Launched through the air, Seth impacted the door back first with a tremendous crash.

"Someone stop this idiot!" Graves called out.

Zelina had the same thought in mind. "We need help back here!" she screamed down the hallway, before returning her vocal efforts to encouraging Seth to get up and fight.

Finn wasn't done. With Seth ending up sitting slumped against the door, dazed from the impact, Balor grabbed a large equipment case and rushed at him with it, pushing it as fast as he could.

"Seth! Move!" Zelina implored him.

It was to no avail. The equipment case appeared to slam into his lower leg or foot, crushing it against the door.

"Oh!" Cole yelped. "Finn Balor just crushed Seth Rollins' leg with that equipment case!"

While Seth rolled around on the floor, howling in agony and clutching his lower leg, a bunch of referees finally arrived, too late to break up the fight that was now already over. While they dragged Finn away, he yelled at Zelina, "That's just the start! You see what happens when you screw me over?"

If looks could kill, Vega would have put an end to Balor right then and there. She looked like she was close to shaking with rage. "You'll pay for this!" she raged. "You'll pay! I'll make sure of it!"

"How badly is Seth Rollins hurt?" Booker wanted to know as Vega went over to join a couple of the referees, who were checking on her client.

* * *

After a commercial break, Kurt Angle was shown in his office, sending a text message to someone on his cell phone. He jumped when his door flew open and slammed against the wall. Zelina Vega blew into the room like a hurricane.

"You again?" Kurt asked. "You need to start knocking."

"No, you need to start doing your job!" she thundered at him, pointing her finger in his face in her customary manner. "Are you in charge of this show or not?"

"Of course I am. Now, what are you getting worked up about this time?"

"I'm getting 'worked up' because your boy Finn Balor just attacked Seth, from behind, I might add! Now Seth's ankle is injured and he can't compete tonight. This is your fault, Angle! I want something done about it!"

"Stop shouting," Kurt said, cringing away from the diminutive but fiery Latina. "I don't see how you figure this was my fault. You're the one who showed up and cost Finn the match last night."

It wasn't a comment that was particularly likely to calm Zelina down. Sure enough, her finger appeared in his face again. "This is your show! Security is your responsibility! People getting attacked backstage is your responsibility! Finn Balor is your responsibility!"

"Alright, alright!" Kurt begged off, raising his hands defensively against her barrage. "You do make a fair point that Balor should not be attacking people backstage. On Raw, we settle things in the ring. Since Seth can't wrestle now, Finn Balor will take his place and face Samoa Joe, in the main event."

With one more withering look, but no further comment, Zelina turned and marched out of the office. Kurt was left to shake his head in disbelief. "How does she not lose her voice?" he wondered, drawing some laughter from the fans watching on the big screen in the arena.

* * *

Just after Finn Balor had made his entrance for the main event, with Samoa Joe already in the ring, Seth and Zelina were shown walking out into the parking garage with their travel cases. Seth was walking perfectly normally, and laughing in his annoying manner. "Are you really sure Angle bought it?" he asked his manager.

"I got you out of the match with Joe, didn't I?"

"You sure did. I duped Balor, making him think that I didn't manage to get my leg out of the way of that stupid case he tried to ram into me, and you duped Angle that I was hurt."

Zelina joined in with the laughter this time. "He's so incompetent, he didn't even check my story with the doctor. And now Finn Balor is out there getting his ass kicked by Joe," she added, speaking the Irishman's name as if she was describing something rather unpleasant that she had just stepped in. Laughing cruelly, she went around to the passenger side of the car while Seth set about loading their cases into the trunk.

"And it's too late for anyone to do anything about it," Seth said, clearly pleased. He slammed the trunk shut and walked around to the driver's door.

Both laughing again, they got into the car. The engine fired up, then roared as Seth stepped on the gas. With a small tire squeal, they were out of there.

* * *

After the show was over, Seth sat in the men's heel locker room, his new location every night. On this occasion, he was keeping himself to himself and staying out of the conversations that were happening around him. There was one simple reason for that: he knew that he had it bad for Zelina. Very bad. And that was seriously troubling, given the circumstances.

Earlier in the night, at the end of the segment where Finn had attacked him, Zelina had needed to make like she was helping the referees to check on him. That moment had been on repeat in his head ever since.

"Seth, are you okay?" she had asked with convincing concern. Leaning over him, she had provided him with a close up of her cleavage and a strong whiff of the sweet perfume she always wore. That stuff was becoming like a drug for him. It felt like she could lure him into doing anything with that alone. Even now, two hours after that moment, he couldn't stop thinking about it.

"Seth?" she asked again in his mind. This time her tone was more sensual, her expression no longer concerned. Now she looked like she was coming on to him.

"Seth?" she breathed, slipping a hand under his shirt and lightly stroking his stomach. He knew where it was going next. Lower. Oh, yes, she was going to...

"Seth?" This time it was a male voice, startling him. "You okay, man?"

Looking up, Seth saw Miz standing there peering down at him. "Uh, yeah," he replied, trying to sound like he meant it. If anything, he was pissed off that his fantasy had been intruded upon.

"You sure? You're sweating, dude. And you were looking like you couldn't focus on anything."

"I was focused on something," Seth said, feeling his composure coming back to him. "I've got a headache coming on, that's all."

"You're sure?" Miz asked, sounding more convinced about it.

"Yeah, honestly, I'm okay. Thanks, Miz."

"You got it. Make sure you have Zelina drive you tonight, okay? And get some rest."

Seth didn't hear the last sentence. He was hung up on the previous one. Zelina was already driving him; driving him crazy. And as for that night? There was only one thing he could do to relieve himself and try and get the fantasies to stop. He couldn't get to his hotel room for some privacy fast enough.


	7. Chapter 7

At this very early stage in her main roster career, Zelina did not have a close friend in the women's locker room. Most of the ladies had been nice to her since her arrival, but that didn't mean they could offer what she needed right now: someone to vent her frustration to without the risk of being judged or gossiped about.

Yes, she could have called one of her friends back in Orlando, and it might even have done a bit of good. But when it came down to it, they didn't understand the wrestling business or what the locker room could be like if it turned against you. That was the biggest fear she had, so it made logical sense to talk to someone within, if only there was a friend that fitted the bill.

Even assuming she did open up to someone, how would they possibly understand when she described the connection that was there between her and Seth? The connection was there. That was a statement of fact, she knew for sure. There could have been no mistaking the electricity that had shot through her body when he had put his hands on her in the gym the other day. This was not some teenage crush, it was a fire that was burning and threatening to blow up into an inferno.

Even better, or worse, she wasn't sure which, was the fact that Seth felt the same thing. She didn't need to be a mind reader to figure that out; it had been written all over his face when he had felt her to react to his touch. In its own way, it had been one of the most intense moments of her life.

That had been three days ago. Ever since, there had been such sexual tension between them. They both knew that for many reasons it would be a bad idea to sleep with each other. But at the same time, they both wanted it so bad.

Even while they were working, while she was playing the part of his manager by encouraging him, checking on him when he was hurt, or raising his hand in victory, she couldn't get sexually motivated thoughts out of her head.

At the end of their house show match the previous night, she had celebrated a win with him and found herself actively wishing he would kiss her as part of the celebration. And that was in the middle of the damn ring! It was getting out of control.

Zelina groaned in frustration, not realising that she had done it out loud.

"That doesn't sound good."

The voice belonged to Sonya Deville, who happened to be using the locker next to Zelina's. Sonya was probably the woman she knew best on the Raw roster, since they had spent a number of months in NXT together. They had never been close, but they hadn't ever had problems.

Zelina needed to talk to someone before she went insane. Screw it, she decided. Anything that might relieve her of the burden a bit would be a great help, just so long as it didn't get around the locker room. "I could use someone to talk to privately," she admitted, sounding more pathetic than she had imagined she would.

The look on Sonya's face conveyed that she thought something serious must be wrong. "I'm happy to listen," she said compassionately. "Uh, shall we go get a coffee or something? When can sit with a bit more privacy in catering."

Part of Zelina wanted to correct the fact that Sonya seemed to have, perhaps understandably, gotten the wrong end of the stick. But no, she decided. Better to keep her mouth shut until they were sitting across a table. "Can we?" she asked gratefully.

"Sure." Sonya picked her phone up off the bench, then said, "Let's go."

A few minutes later, they were sitting down at a table in the back corner of the catering area, where no one would disturb them. Sonya tried her coffee, while Zelina sipped nervously from a cup of green tea.

"That's good coffee," Sonya said as a way to get conversation going.

"I'm in big trouble," Zelina blurted out, ignoring conversational pleasantries. "But what I'm going to tell you can't go further than the two of us."

"It won't," Sonya assured her, seeming maybe a little relieved that the problem didn't seem to be something health-related.

"I need you're word on that."

"You have it. I wouldn't offer to help just so I had some gossip to throw around the place, trust me."

Zelina nodded her acknowledgement appreciatively. "Well, the thing is, as you know, I've only been working with Seth since Sunday night."

"Are you not getting along?" Sonya asked, plainly surprised. "Seth's usually really nice."

"That's actually closer to the problem," Zelina admitted wanting to bury her head in her hands. "You're going to think this is so stupid, but there's such a connection between us. It was there almost from minute one. Then the other day he was showing me a new exercise routine and he put his hands on my back and stomach to show me how to fix my stance, and, well..."

"You felt like your whole body was on fire?" Sonya ventured.

"Exactly," Zelina cringed. "Shit, this is so embarrassing."

"No, it's not," Sonya said kindly. "Awkward, maybe, given the situation, but not embarrassing. My ex-girlfriend had me the same way when I met her. True, it didn't work out in the end, but we spent a lot of happy times together. Anyway, this isn't about me. The truth is, people connect the way you have. It happens."

"But I've only just started working with him," Zelina objected. "What will people say? 'Oh, she's like that, is she?' I don't want people judging me, Sonya. What if it got back to Vince and he took it the wrong way, too. I could be finished!"

"That's going a bit far, but I do understand your concerns. It seems to me you have two choices here."

"Which are?" Zelina asked with a hint of desperation.

"You tell Seth this can't happen and find a way to get past the frustrations between you."

Some chance of that, Zelina thought. "Or?" she prompted.

"Or you sleep with the guy. But, and here's the thing, you make sure no one here finds out. I meant it when I told you I wouldn't say a thing, but some of them?" Sonya pointed in the vague direction of the locker room. "They'd put you under the bus before you could even say sex scandal if they thought you were trying to screw your way to the top."

Zelina didn't bother to protest that wasn't what she was doing. She knew Sonya already knew that. "So your advice is sleep with Seth?" She hadn't gone into the conversation expecting that outcome.

Sonya shrugged. "If it's what you both want and you can keep your mouths shut, what's the problem?"

"You know what? You're right." With that Zelina told herself to stop being a nervous wreck over the whole thing. If Seth saw it the same way with regard to keeping it strictly secret for now, whatever happened could happen.

Then she remembered that she had invited some friends over for a house party in a couple of days. Since Seth also lived in Orlando, she would invite him to come along. If he accepted, who knew where that might lead? A girl could hope.

* * *

"You dirty little shit," Roman said to Seth, laughing heartily. "You've only been working with her for a few days, and you already want to get your dick wet?"

The two men were sitting on the couch in Seth's hotel room, the same night that Zelina had talked to Sonya back at the arena. Not that the guys knew that conversation had happened, of course.

"Yeah, okay, have a laugh about it," Seth groaned. He couldn't pretend that he wouldn't have done the same if the boot had been on the other foot, and Roman had just confessed to him about having a seriously intense crush on someone he had only worked with for less than a week. It did sound pretty crazy when put like that.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't help it," Roman said, still grinning.

"Look, it's not just me. She feels the same way, I'm telling you."

"Really?" Roman asked, doubtful in the extreme.

"I'm telling you," Seth repeated earnestly. "I've seen the way she looks at me, man. You know as well as I do, there's no mistaking what a girl wants when you get 'that look.' That's what she's given me more than once before now. Plus, I put my hand on her stomach the other day in the gym. She fucking quivered big time. It made things so tense between us. If we hadn't been in the middle of a gym, I'd have made a move right then and there."

Roman considered what he had heard for a moment. "So, what I think you're trying to get at is that you're both lost on each other, but you're both scared to make a move."

"Not really scared. It's just a terrible idea, isn't it? We've been working together for a matter of days, and we go jumping in the sack. How is that going to be looked at in the locker room?"

"That's what I meant. I worded it badly. But you are right, unfortunately. Either Zelina would be labelled as a slut trying to bang her way to the top, or you'd look like a womaniser taking advantage of your position over her."

"Exactly. What a spot to put ourselves in. Even if we know the truth, it doesn't count for much when you're being tried in the court of public opinion. I just don't know what to do, Rome."

"Do you think you'll be able to set your feelings aside if you don't act on them?" Roman asked, taking the conversation totally seriously now. Banter was one thing, but his friend genuinely did need some good advice.

"No," Seth admitted frankly. "We work together most nights of the week, and we're travel buddies. Even if I told her I'm going to stop traveling with her, which I'm not going to do, I'd still be working with her."

"And you're one hundred per-cent sure she feels the same way?"

"One hundred and ten," Seth emphasised.

"Then all I can say is be very careful. Keep it out of work for a good while, if you know what's good for you."

"So you're saying I should make a move?"

"I'm saying that sounds inevitable. So I'm also saying don't let your dick ruin a good thing. You're onto something with Zelina as your manager. And besides, she doesn't need her big break ruining. It's on you to be responsible here, Seth."

Seth took that to heart. "I understand. Trust me, I'm not going to be stupid about it. If I thought this was just throwaway sex, we wouldn't even be having this conversation. There's more than that in this, if we can work it out. I just feel it."

"Then all I can add is good luck. I hope it works out whenever you make your move."

Little did Seth know, he wasn't going to be the one to make the move.

* * *

The next morning, Seth was driving to the airport with Zelina so that they could catch their flight back to Orlando. As had been the case the past few days, there was an undercurrent of sexual tension in the car. Neither of them had spoken for five minutes.

"So, Seth," Zelina ventured. "I'm having a party at my place tomorrow night. Just a few friends coming over, a few drinks, a few laughs, nothing crazy. I wondered if you'd like to come?"

Here we go, Seth thought. Not only was she up for it, she wasn't going to bother waiting for his move. It was typical of Zelina to seize the initiative. In that respect, she was a lot like her on-screen character. This was the moment of truth. He had to either step back now, or commit. There was little doubt that if he went to that party, they were going to finish it in bed together. In the end, the decision made itself. "I'd love to," he said, turning to her and smiling. Her eyes twinkled back at him. Yes, they both knew perfectly well what the deal was.

"Can't wait," she said. Seth noticed that she had to fidget a little in her seat as she spoke.

Neither can I, he thought, glad that he was wearing a jacket. It would manage to hide his erection. His body was more than ready for what it knew was coming, but it was going to have to wait. Just one more day.


	8. Chapter 8

The fact that Seth had felt nervous during his Uber ride over to Zelina's house told him a lot. He was usually a confident guy in most aspects of his life, and had never lacked courage when it came to making a move on a woman. But during the ride, there had been a very unwelcome tight feeling in his stomach. That was how badly he wanted, no, needed this night to go well.

The fact that there would be a number of Zelina's friends there, none of whom he had ever met, didn't trouble him. His confident nature meant that he was able to strike up conversation and get along with most people he encountered. All that mattered was Zelina herself. Would things click between them, or would she get cold feet?

One way or another, it was time to find out. He had already lingered outside Zelina's house for a few moments. It was a fairly small two storey affair, recently built by the look of it. To Seth, it had rental written all over it. Nice, but not special. Still, for a single woman who had only recently gotten a well-paying job with WWE, it looked like she was doing quite well for herself.

"Stop looking at the damn house and get inside," he told himself. He walked up the short driveway, past one of the latest BMW models. It wasn't Zelina's car. Hers had to be in the garage attached to the side of the house. The BMW meant that some of the other guests were already there.

Approaching the front door, Seth took in a deep breath for courage. The last thing he wanted was to come across as nervous when he saw Zelina. After a final check that his shirt was tidily tucked into his jeans, he loudly knocked on the door.

After a few seconds, he heard laughter coming from inside the house. The good times had clearly already started. A moment later, Zelina opened the door, a warm, excited smile on her face. "Seth! Come in."

"Hey, Zelina," he smiled back. Damn, she looked stunning. She had on a black sleeveless top that showed plenty of cleavage, and jean shorts that displayed her shapely legs. He would have made a bet that her ass looked incredible, too.

Leaning down slightly while Zelina stretched upwards, Seth gave her a peck on the cheek. His reward was a nose full of that damn perfume. Men had been hypnotised by less, he felt sure.

"Come in," Zelina invited again, stepping aside. "Everyone who's coming is here. I had two more friends coming, but their son has come down with some kind of bug and they didn't want to leave him."

"Totally understandable," Seth said as he entered the hallway. Sounds of conversation were coming from the far end, apparently where the living room was. Before heading down there, he looked at Zelina again. "You look stunning."

"Oh, thank you," she said with some shyness. "You do, too."

"Thanks," Seth smiled. Then he remembered the bottle of wine he was holding. It was bad form to show up at a party without something, but he didn't know what she liked to drink. He had decided red wine was a fairly safe bet. "Oh, I brought this," he said, holding up the bottle.

"Aw, thank you," she said sweetly, taking it from him and briefly looking at the bottle. She then looked back up at him and their eyes lingered on each other for a moment before he tore himself away and headed for the living room.

"I hope the poor thing feels better soon," Zelina said, following behind him.

For a second Seth didn't know what she meant, but then he realised she was back to talking about the ill child. He had forgotten about that straight away, lost on her beauty. "Yeah, I hope he," he said.

Walking into the living room, Seth saw four people in the room, standing there chatting away with drinks in their hands. He was also struck by the enormous TV that dominated one wall. There was quite the sound system rigged up to it, too.

"Let me introduce you to everyone," Zelina said, walking past him. "Guys, this is Seth."

A dark haired guy who looked to be in his mid twenties stepped forward first and offered his hand. Both of his arms were covered in sleeve tattoos. "Mike. Good to meet you. This is Zoe," he said, looking to the shorter woman with red hair standing beside him.

Zoe was a timid, mousy-looking girl, but her smile was warm. "Hi," she said, giving Seth a limp handshake.

"Nice to meet you both," Seth said politely, looking forward to the ice being properly broken.

The other couple came forward. The guy looked about Seth's age. He had short brown hair and about a week's worth of beard. "Alright, mate? How are you? I'm Dan," he said in an English accent as they shook hands.

"I'm good, thanks," Seth replied. "You're from England?"

Dan nodded. "God's country, mate. Meet my wife, Laura."

You're punching, dude, Seth thought when Laura stepped forward. The attractive woman had long dark hair and a darker skin tone. Added to the strange pronunciation of the name, Seth realised he should try and pick up her nationality from her accent. "Hi, Laura," he smiled.

"Seth. Good to meet you. Heard a lot about you from Zelina already tonight."

Seth heard New York in the accent, much like Zelina's. He knew there were a lot of Italians up there, so that was his guess as to Laura's background. "You're from New York?" he asked, not needing an answer. "Is that where you met Zelina?"

"Weirdly, no. We live a few houses down, across the street. There just happens to be two badass New Yorker's living in the same street, right, Zel?"

"You know it," Zelina said with a big grin.

Zel? Seth thought. He hadn't heard that before. But he liked it.

"Have a beer, mate," Dan said confidently to Seth, holding out a bottle of Bud which had just removed the top from.

"Thanks," Seth said, taking it from him.

"I can open the wine if you prefer?" Zelina offered.

"Beer's good, thank you," he said appreciatively.

"So, you're into putting spandex on and rolling around touching other sweaty men?" Dan asked with a cheeky grin.

Some people would of course have taken offense at that, but Seth realised Dan knew that. It was likely why he had said it; to figure out if he was up for a laugh, or if he was uptight and boring. Luckily, Seth could take the banter in good humour.

"That doesn't really sound like my thing, man," he replied, smiling. "But I can probably hook you up with some websites if that's what floats your boat?"

Everyone laughed, then Laura said, "It wouldn't even surprise me."

More laughter. Not be outdone, Dan went back at her. "Doesn't say much for you then, does it?"

Everyone laughed again, and Mike and Zoe gave a theatrical, "Oooh!"

"I've seen her hit you before, Dan. You'd better watch your step," Zelina said, giggling.

Laura pointed at her to acknowledge the comment. "You should listen to her," she told her husband.

"Oh, so we're promoting domestic violence now?" Dan asked Zelina, feigning that he had taken offense.

"Yep," Laura said, punching him on the shoulder. "Now pipe down."

"That's me told, isn't it?" Dan asked everyone, to more laughter.

Now feeling clear of the initial awkwardness of meeting four new people, Seth was able to settle into conversation with Mike and Zoe.

While they chatted, Dan went over and connected his phone to the sound system. He used it to put some background music on.

"Have another beer," Zelina offered Seth a while later, having noticed that his bottle was nearly empty.

"Thanks," he smiled, taking the opened bottle from her. It was the first time they had chatted since the introductions as Zelina had been talking to Laura.

"You have a nice place here," he said, then looked over at the enormous TV. "And that thing is a beast."

"It is," she giggled. "Cost me a damn fortune, but I already told you I'm a huge gaming nerd."

"And a huge gaming nerd needs a huge TV," Seth stated.

"Yeah!" Zelina said enthusiastically. She had obviously already put some alcohol away before his arrival. He could tell she was starting to get buzzed, but it really had her glowing.

A new song started playing in the background. It was something from the nineties that Seth recognised, but he couldn't put his finger on the artist. Zelina started dancing in front of him and singing along. Her body language encouraged him to join in. If only he knew the song better, he thought. In any case, the moment was interrupted.

"Yes, Zel!" Dan called out. "You just gave me an idea. Couples karaoke."

Zoe groaned at the suggestion, but Zelina cried, "Yes! I love it. I have a karaoke playlist I can put on. Who's up for it?" she asked, looking around at everyone.

Dan obviously was, since it was his idea. Laura agreed to join in, as did Mike. With reluctance, Zoe opted in as well. "I can't sing," she warned everyone.

"Neither can I!" Zelina said. "How about you, Seth?" she asked. "You in?"

Singing in front of people he had only just met wasn't high on the list of things Seth would have chosen to do with his night. But then there was the fact that Dan had said couples karaoke. He had his wife with him, and Mike had his wife or girlfriend. It was pretty obvious, therefore, which couple Seth would be a part of. "I'm in," he said with more enthusiasm than might have been the case.

"Yes!" Zelina cheered.

"Can we at least do it later, once I'm drunk?" Zoe pleaded.

"Absolutely," Dan said. "Karaoke is best when you're pissed anyway."

* * *

A couple of hours later, Seth could feel the effects of alcohol in his system. He wasn't a frequent drinker, so it made a nice change to let himself go a bit.

"Having a nice time?" Zelina asked when he came out of the kitchen with three more beers: one for himself, the other's for the other two men. She had a glass of Seth's red wine in her hand. It seemed to be going down nicely. She was obviously drunk, and would probably regret it in the morning. He would, too. But fuck, she was stunning.

"Really great," he replied, repeatedly telling himself to stop thinking about sex.

"I'm really glad you came," she said sweetly. "We get together as a group quite regularly, taking turns to host. Would you come to the next one?"

"Yeah," he agreed easily. There was no one in the group he didn't like, even if Dan did talk a bit too much. Besides, it gave him a chance to spend non-work time with Zelina.

"Awesome! It's a cosplay party next time. The theme is video game characters."

Can I change my answer? Seth thought. Dressing up wasn't his thing, and he was no expert on video games. Just choosing a character would be hard enough, let alone putting together a costume. But he was committed now. An idea for a possible character popped into his head already, surprisingly. It had only taken a matter of seconds. "I think I'll come as..."

"No!" Zelina said quickly, touching a finger to his lips. "You don't reveal your choice ahead of time. Part of the fun is seeing who people come as."

She removed her finger. Seth had been so tempted to kiss it and see what happened from there. Easy, tiger, he thought. "Okay, got it," he said.

"Karaoke time!" Dan called out loudly from over by the sound system. The drink was only encouraging him, it seemed.

Mike, Laura and Zelina all cheered. Seth just smiled, while Zoe still didn't look all that keen about the idea.

Reaching into his pocket, Dan pulled out a twenty dollar bill and held it up. "Come on, twenty sheets from everyone. Winning couple gets the money. How about it?"

"Dan, it doesn't have to be about money," Laura said, rolling her eyes.

"It adds incentive," he said.

"I'm in," Mike said, handing over forty dollars to cover his couple. Seth found himself thinking that if he was in that guy's shoes, he would want to get better at reading his girl's signals.

"Get your money out, Seth," Zelina encouraged.

Soon, Dan had moved Zelina's coffee table out of the way so that there was plenty of room in front of the TV. The one hundred and twenty dollars sat on the table waiting to be handed to the winning couple, with a beer bottle on top of it. Zelina had found a microphone from somewhere, although she only had one. The other person in each couple was going to have to substitute the remote control for the TV.

Zelina crouched down in front of the TV and turned on her PS4. It was impossible for Seth not to study her ass. Unreal, he thought. How was someone that hot single?

Within moments, Zelina had loaded up YouTube and found her karaoke playlist. "It says I have one hundred twenty five songs saved," she giggled, standing back up. "So, how are we going to do this?" She looked to Dan for the answer, since the game had been his idea.

"Okay, we'll work it like this. We'll put the playlist on shuffle. Each couple will have the chance to pass on the first song that comes up for them, but only the first one. So if you pass, you run the risk of getting something worse. We'll sing in couples, obviously. One person will do verses, the other doing the choruses. We'll decide as a group who did the best, and they get sixty dollars each."

General agreement of the rules came from around the room, then Zelina said, "Just so long as Seth and I beat you, Dan, I'm happy."

"Never happening, love," Dan told her cheekily. "And for that, you get to go last, when the pressure is on."

Seth had to laugh at that. "Thanks, Zel," he said, using the shortened version of her name for the first time.

"Sorry," she giggled, walking over to join him in a corner of what had now become something of a stage. She downed the rest of the wine in her glass, then slipped an arm around his waist.

Well, hello, Seth thought. He was surprised, but he sure as hell wasn't going to object.

"Zoe, Mike, you can go first," Dan said. He used the PS4 controller to shuffle to a song. The One and Only by Chesney Hawkes came up.

"Zel, what the hell is that?" Mike asked, laughing.

"What?" she objected.

"This is your playlist," he accused.

"The best karaoke songs are eighties and nineties. What do you want from me? Back me up, Seth," she said looking up at him.

Maybe it was the drink, but it almost felt like they were already together to Seth in that moment. It was surreal. "You heard the lady," he managed to say. "Are you taking the song or not?"

"I don't know the words to that," Mike said, looking at Zoe. "Babe?"

"Pass," she confirmed.

"Okay. Remember, you have to take what comes up next," Dan reminded them. He shuffled again, and they got Bryan Adams' Run To You.

A few minutes later, Seth joined in applauding what had been a pretty terrible, error-strewn performance. Now he knew why Zoe didn't like karaoke. It had sounded like someone had been murdering a cat.

"Now our turn," Laura said. "You'd better not let me down now, big mouth," she told Dan.

Seth joined in with the laughter. Once you got used to it, it was fun to watch them bounce off each other.

"I got this, you know I have," Dan said confidently. He shuffled the playlist. Dirty Diana by Michael Jackson came up. "Honey?" he asked his wife.

"I could probably do the chorus," Laura said. "I'd rather not risk rolling again."

"Okay, let's go," Dan said.

While he and Zelina watched the performance, she looked up at him and gave an exaggerated grimace. She was thinking the same as him: they were in trouble. Dan and Laura were actually good. No wonder the crafty bastard had talked them into parting with twenty bucks each.

"Why, thank you," Laura said with a little curtsey, acknowledging the applause.

Stepping forward with Zelina, Seth felt ridiculously nervous considering it was a silly party game. Zelina had been happy to play for money, so he had to assume she was good. What if they dropped a song he didn't know and he let them down?

"Ready?" she asked, looking up at him while she took the TV controller from Dan.

"Yeah," he said with more confidence than he felt as he accepted the microphone from Laura.

"Here we go," Dan said.

Seth almost cringed, dreading what song might come up.

"Oh!" Zelina cried when they got their first choice. It was a remix of Never Gonna Give You Up by Rick Astley. "What do you think, Seth?"

Seth knew the chorus to the song, which was the best he could probably have hoped for. He backed himself to do an okay job with it. "Take it, if I can have the choruses," he said.

"You're on. I've got the verses," Zelina said.

"Alright then, here goes," Dan announced.

The music began to play. Seth noticed the remix was faster-paced than the original song, and set to guitar music rather than cheesy eighties dance. There was barely any intro before Zelina had to start the first verse. To Seth's surprise, she faced him rather than the TV screen. She could apparently perform the song without prompts, allowing her to actually sing to him.

For Zelina, now that the song had been selected, she realised she couldn't have hoped for anything better, and that had nothing to do with the karaoke competition. Since Seth had arrived, she had been wondering how to transition from having him over for a party to getting him in her bedroom. That was what she desperately wanted. She needed to able to tell him how she really felt. Now, the song would allow her to do that by singing it to him. She just hoped he would figure out what was going on. She launched into the song, thinking that there was a word in one of the first few lines that she needed to change.

"We're no strangers to love,

You know the rules, and so do I.  
A full commitment's what I'm thinking of.  
You wouldn't get this from any other girl."

Seth was blown away. Not only did she have a great voice, she sang with such feeling. Something in the back of his mind wondered if that was because she actually meant the words she sang to him. But no, that was being stupid, wasn't it?

"I just wanna tell you how I'm feeling," she went on. "Gotta make you understand."

In this version of the song, there was a line repetition while the guitar music built up towards the chorus.

"I just wanna tell you how I'm feeling.  
Gotta make you understand."

Now it was Seth's turn. Luckily he knew the words to the chorus, and had by now picked up on the pace of the music.

"Never gonna give you up,  
Never gonna let you down,  
Never gonna run around and desert you.  
Never gonna make you cry,  
Never gonna say goodbye,  
Never gonna tell a lie and hurt you."

While Seth had been singing, Dan had started clapping along with the guitar music, and the others had quickly followed. Seth realised that he and Zelina were smashing it. He had even managed to follow her example of singing to her rather than the TV screen.

Meanwhile, while Zelina loved how well Seth had sang his part, she didn't think he had picked up on what she was trying to do with the song. While she waited for the bridge to lead her into the second verse, she thought up a word change that she knew would make it clear to Seth and everyone else in the room. So be it, she decided as the guitar built up, leading her in.

"We've known each other for two weeks.  
Your heart's been aching but you're too shy to say it.  
Inside we both know what's been going on.  
We know the game and we're gonna play it."

Seth now knew exactly what was going on. Zelina wanted him, as he wanted her. She felt everything he felt, no matter how soon or how crazy it was. Everyone else in the room had to have at least some idea now that she was singing the lyrics to him, not to them. It was a moment he would never forget. But the song wasn't over.

"I just wanna tell you how I'm feeling.  
Gotta make you understand."

As she sang that line in repetition, Seth thought she had gone wrong, not that he cared in the least at this point. In fact, for this version of the song, she was correct. Now it was over to him for the chorus again.

"Never gonna give you up,  
Never gonna let you down,  
Never gonna run around and desert you.  
Never gonna make you cry,  
Never gonna say goodbye,  
Never gonna tell a lie and hurt you."

Glancing at the screen, Seth saw that there was a repetition of the chorus to close out the song.

"Both together!" Dan called out.

They obliged, looking into each other's eyes the whole time.

"Never gonna give you up,  
Never gonna let you down,  
Never gonna run around and desert you.  
Never gonna make you cry,  
Never gonna say goodbye,  
Never gonna tell a lie and hurt you."

To a round of applause, the performance was over.

"I think we have a winning couple," Dan admitted.

Seth felt himself grinning like an idiot, looking down at Zelina, who seemed a little breathless. She looked back at him. His impression was that she'd had the time of her life.

"Kiss her then, for fuck's sake," Dan told Seth.

"Dan!" Laura scolded.

But Seth knew he was right. After what Zelina had done by singing those words to him, he had to kiss her now if he was ever going to. Leaning down, he met her halfway as she stretched upwards. Their lips brushed together, eyes locked on each other. She tasted of wine, he noticed irrelevantly.

Then she kissed him again, more forcefully. His arms went around her, holding her close, and they smooched for a long moment. To Seth, it felt like the best kiss of his life, although he knew that was mostly because of how frustrating the wait for it had been.

"Get it, Zel," Zoe called out excitedly.

When the kiss was over and their mouths parted, Zelina looked longingly at Seth and quietly said, "My bedroom is upstairs."

Seth felt his breathing go ragged for a second. It was actually going to happen. She didn't even care that she had four other guests in the house. "Lead the way," he said quietly.

"Sorry, guys," she mumbled to her friends as they made their way across the living room towards the door.

"No worries," Dan called out. "But we're drinking all your beer and eating all your food."

"Go right ahead," Zelina called back from the hallway. Grabbing Seth by the hand, she headed for the stairs.


	9. Chapter 9

Zelina turned around as she practically dragged Seth into her bedroom. Already breathing heavily with lust taking over her, she wrapped her arms around the back of his neck and pulled him down towards her so that they could kiss.

"Oh, God. It feels like this took forever to happen," he breathed in between kisses.

"I know," she replied.

Seth kissed her sloppily again, then said, "You taste so good."

While they continued kissing, she removed her arms from around him and awkwardly started unbuttoning his shirt. She was frantic just to get at his body, and that urgency was driving him even more wild.

With some of the buttons undone, she ran a hand over his firm abs, while almost gasping into his mouth. "You feel amazing. You smell amazing. You kiss amazing."

Seth was too lost on the feel of her tongue against his own to even try and come up with a response to that. In any event, he wasn't there to talk.

Thinking she had undone all of the buttons on his shirt, Zelina gave both sides of it a firm pull to open it and untuck it from his jeans at the same time. Unfortunately she had missed one button, which tore off.

"Fuck, sorry," she said, unable to stop kissing him even to get that out properly.

"Forget it," Seth told her. If a ruined shirt was the price to pay for a night with Zelina, he considered himself well ahead of the game. He shrugged his arms out of the garment and tossed it aside as an irrelevance.

Zelina's hands were all over his naked back and shoulders, revelling in their first contact with his muscular physique. Stretching up again, she felt his rock hard length press against her stomach. "Oh, Seth," she gasped, voice thick with desire.

"That's what you do to me, muñeca," he said gruffly, surprising her by using the Spanish word for doll.

"Muñeca?" she asked softly.

"Yeah," he breathed, slipping a hand under her top. It was a simple job to lift it up and off her as she raised her arms to help him. "Oh, God," he said, seeing her in just her black bra.

"You can take it off if you like?" she invited in a sultry manner, taking his hand and walking backwards to the bed. She got on it and lay down, propping herself up slightly on her elbows, while Seth straddled her, careful not to put his weight on her stomach.

"Oh, I like," he assured her. Reaching around behind her, he fumbled to get the bra undone. Why did they have to make the stupid things so annoying? Eventually he found success and dropped the bra to the floor. Zelina lay there, breathing deeply, looking up at him with an expression that sought approval.

"Beautiful," he sighed, as if there could have been any doubt. She didn't have large breasts, but they were lovely and pert.

"Seth?" she gasped.

"Yeah?" He froze, genuinely unsure what she was going to say.

"Don't just look at me, fuck me. Please. I need it. I need you."

"I need it too, muñeca," he assured her. Cursing himself, he remembered that he hadn't brought protection. It had been an awkward decision to make, but he had ultimately decided that if he brought protection with him it would look like he had showed up expecting to get sex, rather than hoping for it. "I, uh, don't have protection," he confessed.

Zelina pointed to the nightstand at the side of the bed they were on. It had a draw. "Try in there."

Seth reached over and opened the drawer. There were a few pieces of jewellery in there along with some other odds and ends. Most importantly there was a condom. Result, he thought. "There's one," he said thankfully.

Watching him pull his jeans and boxers down, Zelina saw his manhood for the first time. All she could think about was what it would feel like any moment now when it was inside her. She gripped the bed cover in her hands in anticipation.

"Sorry," Seth said quietly once he was finally ready. He climbed back onto the bed and gently pulled down her jean shorts and underwear.

"Are you ready for me, baby?" he asked. While he knew that foreplay was usually essential to good and enjoyable sex, he was about ready to burst already, such had been his frustration the past week or so. He had a feeling she felt exactly the same way.

"Yes. Yes," she said breathlessly.

Seth lowered himself over the top of her, kissing her right nipple gently as a little tease before slipping into her. He was careful about it, since it was their first time. He didn't want to hurt her. Yes, she was definitely ready, he felt. His heart missed a beat. Fuck, she was just the right amount of tight around him. With an uncontrollable moan of pleasure, he began his first slow thrusts.

Zelina muttered something in Spanish that Seth didn't catch, but it was clear that it came from pleasure. She began to move with him, and reached her arms around him to keep him close to her. She even dug her nails into his skin.

A little bit of pain never hurt anybody, Seth reasoned. In any event, he was thrusting harder now, his instincts taking over. After so much sexual tension, this was all about release for them both, not about exploring each other's bodies and making love. There would be other occasions for that, without doubt.

Now that she was being pounded, Zelina arched her back, wanting him to fill her completely with each thrust. She began gasping loudly with each one, feeling herself approaching climax. It hadn't taken long, but then it hadn't been likely to, given the circumstances.

"Seth!" she cried, then louder again the next time.

As she came, she really clawed into his back with her nails, closing her eyes in the moment. Toughing it out, Seth just gave a loud grunt and kept going. She cried out again in her orgasm.

"That's it, muñeca," he encouraged, only a moment before he reached his own peak. Convulsing strongly, he unloaded over the course of three thrusts, groaning loudly in ecstasy. It was hardly a performance for the ages, but it had gotten the job done.

"Oh, Seth," she moaned as he slowed down, bringing their first time to an end. "Oh, Seth."

Seth looked down at her. Sweaty, hair a mess, breathless, thoroughly fucked. He had never seen a more beautiful sight in his life. "Muñeca," he sighed, leaning over her to brush his lips against hers. When that was done, he pulled out and rolled onto his back beside her.

They just lay there for a moment in the afterglow of their first time together, catching their breath. The only movement was Zelina linking her hand with his.

"Seth?" she asked eventually.

"Yeah?" he asked, turning his head to look at her.

"Please always call me muñeca."

He gave her a gentle kiss on the cheek. "I promise."

* * *

Seth opened his eyes. He had a hangover, that was the first thing he noticed. His head was throbbing and the sunlight outside hurt his eyes, even through the closed curtains.

His brain started to switch itself on, fighting with the effects of the alcohol. It was light outside. It was morning. He was in Zelina's bed. Since was facing the window, he could see that her side was empty. They had fucked each other. It had been amazing. That was all he could remember. Now he had a hangover.

Since the light was hurting, he made the herculean effort to turn over and face the other way. As he did so, he heard the sound of beer bottles clinking together downstairs. The thought of beer didn't help him at all.

He heard what sounded like the bottles being dropped in the trash, then light footsteps coming up the stairs. It had to be Zelina, but why was she cleaning up already? He couldn't entertain the idea, let alone perform the task.

"Hey," he tried call out, only succeeding in making a croaking sound. He cleared his throat and tried again. "Hey."

"Hey yourself," Zelina said brightly. She breezed into the room wearing only pink lace underwear and a pair of rubber gloves in a matching colour. "You're finally awake," she said, standing with hands on hips at the side of the bed.

She looked stunning to Seth. A lot better than he did, he felt sure. "I'm hanging," he complained. "But you're really a sight for sore eyes."

"I don't get hangovers. Never have," she shrugged. "I was wondering if you were going to get up and come help me clean up downstairs? It looks like a tornado came through."

Seth lifted his head up and propped it on one arm. "I'd rather have sex. You can't walk in dressed like that and..."

"No protection, remember," she said reluctantly, cutting him off.

Frustrated, Seth groaned and flopped down onto his back.

"Hmm," Zelina said with a thoughtful grin. "Maybe muñeca can take care of you anyway."

Seth lifted his head again. "Oh?"

Zelina walked forward and pulled the cover off him, finding him in just his boxers. He was already starting to harden.

"Yes," she said soothingly, like a nurse to a patient as she sat down beside him. "Leave it to muñeca."

Seth's heartrate began to pickup as she slipped a gloved hand into his boxers and started to tenderly stroke his shaft.

"How's that?" she asked delicately, teasing him.

"Nice," he replied, encouraging her to do more.

Obliging, she pulled his boxers down so that she could get a hand properly around his girth and start to massage it. The textured gloves felt strange on him, but not unpleasant.

"There we go," she purred as he firmed up in her hand. "Oh, you're so hard, Seth."

"Oh, God," Seth moaned. If it was possible to talk someone into an orgasm, she wasn't doing a bad job.

Now her other hand went to work also, her fingers gently brushing him just below his end. He had never had a handjob quite like it, but she was good. Damn, she was good. He had expected she might bring her mouth to the party to finish him off, but she showed no sign of doing so.

"Mmm," Zelina purred, still stroking him tenderly, making sure to build him up as slowly as she could.

Breathing laboured, Seth closed his eyes to fully enjoy the amazing sensations she was creating for him.

Suddenly, she picked up her pace a little. She was going to bring him to his peak. "You feel so nice, Seth. So hard. I remember how you felt in me."

Seth just gasped in response.

"How does that feel, baby?" she asked, changing the way she was handling him slightly, getting a tighter grasp of him. The gloves' grips felt rougher now.

"Amazing. Never felt anything like it," he panted. She was making him wait now, keeping him hovering near his climax but not letting him get there.

"And who do you have to thank?" she asked sweetly.

"Muñeca," he gasped. As he did so, she quickened her rhythm, and he almost immediately erupted, along with a loud moan, feeling his body shaking with the release.

When it was over, Zelina sat there smiling, satisfied with her work, waiting for him to get his breath back.

"Oh, muñeca," he sighed after a moment. "You're incredible."

With a sweet little grin, she held up one gloved hand, the palm covered in his fluid. "Look what you did," she pretended to scold him. "I'd better go clean up." With that, she walked out of the room, giving her shapely ass a little wiggle for him on the way out. As if wearing a thong wasn't enough by itself.

"Muñeca's going to kill me," Seth whispered to himself. There were definitely worse ways for a guy to go out.


	10. Chapter 10

Something unexpected was taking place. All of the Smackdown roster had been summoned to Raw, and everyone had been told to assemble in a large conference room, where they were to be addressed by Vince McMahon.

"What's this about?" Zelina asked Seth as they slowly walked towards the conference room among the large pack of other superstars. As if he had a chance of knowing any more than she did, which was nothing.

"No idea," he replied with a shrug. "Big changes for 'Mania?" he ventured.

"Surely they wouldn't need Smackdown guys here for that. They could tell them tomorrow night. Maybe it's a draft?" she added, eyes widening.

Karl Anderson happened to walking behind them. "That's what people are saying," he joined in.

"They are?" Seth asked, half turning to look back at him.

"Yep. No one knows for sure, but what else makes sense?"

He had a point, Zelina thought. Getting everyone together before a random Raw episode was decidedly odd. She could think of no other reason that might fit the bill.

The surprise had certainly taken her mind off the fact that it was her first night working with Seth since they had embarked on... whatever it was that was happening between them. A secret, that was one thing it definitely was; they had agreed on that. At work, they were colleagues and nothing more. But when they got to the hotel at night, it would be a different story. Just so long as they were careful not to get busted by someone.

"If it is a draft, they'd better not split us up," Seth said to her.

That possibility hadn't even occurred to her. Surely that wouldn't happen. They were only just getting started together. That statement applied in more than one sense now, she thought, suppressing a smile. "They'd better not," she replied. "We're only a couple of weeks in."

"I'm sure they won't, but is possible," he said cautiously.

It would be a real kick in the gut if they did, she thought as they filed into the conference room. Their budding relationship would surely die along with their kayfabe pairing if they were put on separate rosters.

Vince McMahon was standing at the far end of the room behind a lectern. Hunter and Stephanie Helmsley were there beside him, as was Shane McMahon. Full house, Zelina thought.

"Okay, move forward," Vince instructed loudly. "There are more people coming in. Make room."

Zelina found herself being shepherded over to the right side of the room. Being short was such a pain in the ass sometimes. She ended up behind a bunch of guys, and couldn't see Vince at all. She would have to make do with listening.

"Okay, everybody here?" Vince called out a couple of minutes later.

"Looks like it," Someone called back from near the door. It sounded like Baron Corbin. There was still some general chatter going on while people waited for the meeting to begin.

"Good. Okay, let's have some quiet," Vince ordered loudly. He quickly got what he wanted.

Zelina looked up at Seth. Noticing, he looked down and gave her a little shrug. He still had no clue either as to what was going on.

Now able to speak at a more normal volume, Vince got down to business. "Needless to say, you all want to know why you've been brought in here. The reason is this: I have decided that it's time to shake things up. As you obviously know, we're just a matter of weeks away from Wrestlemania. On the Smackdown following Wrestlemania, we will be holding the 2018 WWE draft."

Murmurs of conversation started around the room as people reacted to the news. Zelina looked up at Seth and saw him raise his eyebrows. "You called it," he said.

"Alright, quiet!" It was Hunter's voice this time. "We can all have a chat afterwards, but for now let's just listen."

Silence descended again.

"Now," Vince said. "At previous drafts, as some of you will remember, we've announced who is going where on the day of the draft. This time, we've got it all planned out ahead of time. The plans are agreed and finalised, so we are able to tell you now which roster you will be on starting the Tuesday after Wrestlemania. Any questions so far?"

"Can I be on the opposite show to Sami?" Kevin Owens called out. The room erupted into laughter. The two men were close off-screen, but the amount of times they had worked together as friends, then enemies, then friends again, and enemies again in the past few weeks, was bordering on the ridiculous.

Zelina chuckled, looking up at Seth, who was laughing heartily. He looked great when he laughed. Stop it, she told herself. This wasn't the time or place.

"Yes, you're on opposite rosters," Vince confirmed. Ironic cheers came from multiple people in room, but it quickly settled down so that the boss could go on.

"Shaking things up isn't the only reason we're having this draft. I'm sick and tired of hearing Smackdown referred to as the B show. There is no B show. For that reason, we're putting Smackdown on an equal footing; changing it to a three hour show. And we're going to make sure the rosters are more fairly balanced."

Zelina looked up at Seth again to gauge his opinion. He rolled his eyes at the three hour announcement. She agreed. Surely making Raw two hours would have been better? Still, it wasn't her company to run.

"I'm also going to be trading the Commissioners," Vince announced. "So Shane will now be on Raw, with Stephanie on Smackdown. The current General Managers will remain in their current positions."

"Wow!" Zelina mouthed to Seth, her eyes wide in surprise. Stephanie and Daniel Bryan working together? That would damn sure be an interesting storyline. And Shane working with Kurt? Those gentlemen had gone to war in the past as well.

"Holy shit," Seth mouthed back to her.

"I have a list here of who is going to be on which roster," Vince was saying. "It's in alphabetical order by surname or character name where appropriate, so listen out for your name."

Zelina knew that meant she was probably last of all, unless she was listed with Seth as his manager. She decided that while Vince read down the list, she would make sure to listen out for the people she and Seth had been working with, his friends, and other notable names.

"Before I start with the list, there are three people not here tonight: Cena, Lesnar, and Rousey, all listed for Raw."

No surprise there, Zelina thought. Now the list itself began to be read out.

"Ambrose: Raw," was one of the first.

"Balor: Smackdown."

There went their current rivalry.

"Banks: Smackdown."

"Bayley: Smackdown."

Oh, shoot, Zelina thought. Huge changes, and one of Seth's friends gone.

More names went by, some changing shows, some not.

"Deville," was the next notable name for Zelina. "Smackdown."

Fuck, there goes my closest thing to a friend, she thought.

"Flair: Raw."

Damn, the Smackdown champ was going. Alexa Bliss had also been called for Raw. Presumably there would be at least one women's title change at Wrestlemania.

Vince proceeded through the middle of the alphabet without much of interest to Zelina.

"Reigns: Raw."

Both of Seth's best friends were on the red brand, while Sonya was off to Tuesday nights. Zelina knew that either she or Seth were going to come out of this disappointed, even assuming they stayed together. Rollins had be coming up, too.

"Rollins and Vega: Smackdown."

Zelina felt relief that they had been announced as a team, but she saw Seth lean his head back in disappointment. He would be leaving Roman and Dean behind. She really felt for him in that moment, and wanted to give his hand a reassuring squeeze. But she couldn't risk doing that.

"Roode: Smackdown," Vince went on.

"Samoa Joe: Smackdown."

They were certainly throwing some big names at the 'B show' problem, Zelina thought.

"Tamina Snuka: Raw."

"Styles: Smackdown."

Rollins and Styles on the same show. That was fire, she thought.

Shortly, Vince was coming to end of the list.

"Zayn: Raw." Owens had been called for Smackdown.

"Ziggler: Raw. Okay, that's it," Vince announced. "Anyone who didn't hear their name called out?"

No response came. By her count, Zelina had the major changes as Banks, Bayley, and Deville going to Smackdown, with Flair, Naomi, and Tamina going to Raw for the women. For the men, she had Balor, Joe, and Seth heading to Smackdown, with Corbin, Zayn and Ziggler joining Raw. Smackdown had the best of that, in her opinion.

"Good," was the verdict. "I will open the show tonight to announce the change of Smackdown to three hours, and the draft. I'll provide the audience with details of when it will happen, what the rules will be, and the fact that I'll be switching the Commissioners around. For those moving to a new brand, you will be informed as to the creative plans relating to your debuts closer to the time. Everything clear?"

Rumblings of agreement came from the room. Whether they liked their new assignments was not up for discussion. Zelina looked up at Seth, trying to make eye contact, but he was looking towards the lectern.

"There is some other business to take care of tonight in relation to this matter," Vince announced. "Before we get into that, I need a path clearing to the door. Some of you will be leaving the room in groups momentarily."

People shuffled around to make that happen. Seth looked down at Zelina, and she gave him a quizzical look, as if to say, "What groups?"

"Hunter, why don't you start us off?" Vince suggested.

"Sure," Hunter agreed, then raised his voice to be more clearly heard. "I need the following people to come with me: Bayley; Joe; Roode; Rollins; Vega."

Zelina was shocked to have heard her name called, and Seth's. Was this good or bad? Either way, she couldn't stand there questioning it. Seth was excusing their way through to the walkway that had been created to the door.

As she stepped out of the crowd, Zelina saw Hunter standing there waiting. The others must have already left ahead of them. "Let's go, guys," he said, gesturing to the door. At least he had smiled. That put her at ease a little bit.

There was no opportunity for Zelina to talk to Seth, so she just followed him out of the room. Sure enough, Bayley, Bobby Roode and Samoa Joe were all standing in the hallway.

"Just go in the office across the way, please," Hunter said, pointing to a closed door.

Zelina filed in last of the people who didn't have a clue what was happening, with Hunter behind her. Joe had turned the lights on, and was first to speak as they all took up standing positions, facing the boss. "What's going on, H?"

Hunter wasted no time in starting his answer. "The five of you are now all Smackdown superstars, or will be after the draft, I should say. You're also going to be a stable."

Woah, Zelina thought, trying not to let her excitement show too much. These were some huge names to put together, apart from her own. They were also a mix of heels and babyfaces, so some turns were on the cards.

They all looked around at each other, eyeing up their new teammates for the first time. Everyone looked surprised, but no one appeared unhappy with the idea.

"Are we heel or face?" Bayley asked. "Currently, you have both here."

"You're a heel stable, called The Vega Cartel."

Zelina could have been knocked over with a feather in that moment. The Vega Cartel? What the shit? They were giving her all of these awesome talents to be 'in charge' of? Everyone was looking at her now, which didn't help at all.

"Don't look worried," Hunter told her with a reassuring smile. "We have total faith in you to take this on."

I'm glad you do, Zelina thought sarcastically. What about these seasoned veterans who are supposed to act like they're working under some main roster newbie?

"The Vega Cartel, huh?" Joe asked thoughtfully.

Here it goes, she thought. He's going to tell Hunter to stick it up his...

"I like it," Joe said. "I dig what Zelina's got going on. I think she'll do an amazing job."

That was too much. Zelina felt tears coming fast. "Sorry," she mumbled, turning around to hide her face. She covered it with her hands to make sure.

"Hey, it's okay," Seth said comfortingly, putting a hand on her shoulder.

Bayley also came over to check on her. "Don't cry. I'm with Joe; you've got this."

"That's why I'm crying," Zelina said into her hands. "I'm being given something so big, and you guys are supporting me. I just..." Words failed her as the tears continued to flow.

"We can give you a minute of you need it?" Hunter asked gently.

No. Don't accept that. Pull yourself together, Zelina told herself. Stop looking like an idiot in front of these guys. She took a very deep breath to get herself under control. "No, I'm okay," she said, turning back around to face Hunter.

"Attagirl," Bobby said kindly.

Zelina knew she would be forever thankful for how they had rallied around her in that moment instead of distancing themselves, which, apart from Seth, they could easily have done.

"So, who wants to hear some more about The Vega Cartel?" Hunter asked brightly, wanting to lift up the atmosphere in the room.

They all said that they did.

"As the name suggests, the faction will be put together by Zelina. The aim will be to take over Smackdown. We've decided we don't want our authority figures to be heels, so we're using this to put a face turn on Steph, and myself if I end up involved in it. She'll be uniting with Daniel Bryan to take on a real enemy to their brand: you guys."

"Yes!" Seth said enthusiastically. "Strong stables aren't something we do enough of. This one is killer."

Bayley, Bobby and Joe all muttered agreement. Zelina was still too stunned by it all to say anything.

"Exact creative details are still in the works, like Vince said just now," Hunter went on. "But I do have a couple of things I can show you if you crowd round and look at my phone."

They quickly obliged him and he pulled up his picture gallery. It opened on a picture of his three daughters. "Oops, not that," he said with a smile. "Good job it wasn't nudes of Steph, huh?"

Zelina noticed Bobby and Joe look at each other with childish expressions. Neither of them actually had the balls to tell Hunter to show them if he had them, though.

"Here we go," Hunter said, now having loaded up the correct gallery. There were only two pictures in it. He opened the first one.

Zelina saw a black background with the word Vega in very fancy, elaborate gold lettering. It looked amazing.

"That's the logo for your team; our starting point for branding this thing. What do you think?"

"Sick," Bobby said.

"Second that," Bayley nodded.

"It's awesome," Seth added.

Joe just nodded, but Zelina saw on his face that he did approve.

"Then there's this," Hunter said, loading up the other picture.

"Oh my. Is that...?" Zelina asked, feeling her head spinning again.

"That's fucking sick," Bobby said. "Oh, excuse me," he quickly said to the ladies.

"He's right," Seth said.

The picture they were looking at showed what was obviously a ridiculously expensive tour bus. It was coloured all metallic black, with the gold Vega brand on the side near the door at the front.

"Please tell me we actually get to travel in that?" Bayley asked.

"Undecided as yet, but I'm pushing for you to have it," Hunter said. "We'll see."

"You're shitting us now," Seth accused.

Hunter shrugged. "I don't see the point in us buying it to have it driven round empty to the shows. But like I said, that's still being discussed. One thing is for sure: if you do get to use it, you trash it, you pay for it."

Everyone laughed, although they knew he meant it.

"Okay, that's about all I've got for now," Hunter said, putting his phone away. "I'll take questions if you have them?"

"Just to be clear," Bayley said. "Zelina is going to put us together to attempt to take over the show on Smackdown. Look at the people we have here. It's hardly likely we would fail."

"Nobody said you would fail," Hunter pointed out. "But I can't go into creative as it's still in progress."

"Then I don't think there's anything else," Seth said for the group. They nodded agreement.

"Okay, off you go," Hunter said, gesturing to the door.

Zelina was closest to the door, so she led the way. She had better get used to that, she thought. This was all so far beyond wild. The Vega Cartel. It was unreal.

Outside in the hallway, she guessed Seth could tell she was still overwhelmed by what they had been told. Luckily, he could help her while looking like a friend, not something more. "We'll catch you up," he said to the rest of their new team.

Zelina stopped walking and leaned her back against the wall.

"You okay?" Seth asked.

"Just need a minute," she said, feeling close to tearing up again.

"Hey, come on," he said soothingly, wishing he could do more to care for her in the moment, but they could still hear Vince talking in the conference room, and Hunter was likely to come out of the office at any moment.

"They're just giving me so much," she babbled. "I feel like I haven't earned it."

"Zelina, you have amazing talent. Anyone can see that. Your promos are fire, and you play your part so well. Plus you have such a positive attitude backstage. Hunter notices all of those things. This is him pushing you because he knows you can do it. And yes, he does think you deserve it."

They had maintained eye contact the whole time, and Zelina drew strength from him. She wanted to believe what he said. It would just take a while to hit home. Luckily, they had a few weeks before everything that had been discussed would actually start taking place.

Before she could reply to Seth, the office door opened and Hunter walked out, heading back to the conference room. Noticing them nearby, he stopped. "Everything okay?"

Zelina managed a genuine smile. "Yeah. Thank you, Hunter, for this and everything else."

He nodded once. "Grab the ball, remember."

"And run with it," she finished sincerely.

Seth looked slightly amused by that, but he smiled once Hunter was gone "See, just what I was saying."

They started walking in the direction their new teammates had gone. "Thanks, Seth, for having my back. I'm sorry I lost it in there. I won't do that that again."

"That's why I'm here, muñeca," he said.

She could tell he was hoping that wasn't too much for the early stage they were at. It definitely wasn't as far as she was concerned. "Thank you," she said, giving him what she hoped was one of her best smiles. "And I'm here for you, too. I'm really sorry they split you from Roman and Dean. That must hurt."

"Yeah, it does. But I'm a big boy. I can handle it."

It was more than obvious that he was putting a brave face on it, but she wasn't going to push him if that was what he wanted to do. "Just know that I'm here if it gets hard."

Seth smiled appreciatively back at her, and she wanted to take his hand again. This secrecy stuff was going to be a damned nightmare. But it was totally necessary.

"We'll be starting this angle before we know it," Seth said to drag them both out of the moment. "And we'll even have our own tour bus."

"You really think Hunter will swing that for us?"

"I do, actually. Like he said, what's the point in them buying it, painting it in that awesome scheme, then also paying to have it driven to the shows empty when they can give it to us and make us cover the running costs?"

Zelina had to agree with the logic there. "You might be right. But we've got, what, five Raw episodes until 'Mania including tonight?"

"Sounds about right. And we don't even know what we're doing tonight yet."


	11. Chapter 11

_Monday Night Raw – 5th March 2018_

Kurt Angle opened the second hour of the show by coming to the ring to cut a promo. He began by addressing the blockbuster announcements Vince McMahon had made at the top of the show. Declaring that his past issues with Shane McMahon were exactly that, he promised a harmonious working relationship between Raw's new management team when the time came.

"But that's all going to start after Wrestlemania," Kurt said. "And frankly, there is some more pressing business to be dealt with tonight." He paused for a second then said, "Seth Rollins, and La Arquitecta, Zelina Vega."

Those individuals were not popular. The names were greeted with boos.

"Yes, exactly," Angle said in acknowledgement of the reaction. "Last week, something happened that I took particular offense to. I will be the first admit that it happened, and that it was my own fault. Zelina Vega made me look a fool."

"No comment," Graves said sarcastically on commentary.

"She marched right into my office, ranting and raving about Finn Balor injuring Seth Rollins. With her convincing performance, I believed her. I should have known better. You see, Ms Vega flat-out, brazenly lied to my face. Seth Rollins was not unable to compete. In fact, he wasn't even hurt. They tricked me into taking Seth out of a match with Samoa Joe and putting Finn Balor in the match in his place. I hold my hand up for that error in judgement," he said, doing exactly that.

"However," he went on in a firmer tone, "I have to wonder how well Zelina Vega thought through her little scheme. Is she the architectural genius she sees herself as, or was she just getting all hot-headed because Finn attacked Seth? Personally, I suspect the latter, because while lying to me might have worked last week, I don't know what La Arquitecta expected to happen when she showed up with her client _this_ week."

"Good point," Cole opined.

"What I can tell you is what is going to happen," Kurt said emphatically. "Seth Rollins will compete tonight, one on one, against Finn Balor. And if he doesn't..."

He had to stop because the fans were loudly cheering the fact that Finn was going to get a chance at revenge for the robbery that he had been a victim of at Elimination Chamber.

"And if he doesn't compete," Kurt said again once he could be heard, "Seth Rollins will forfeit his number one contendership at Wrestlemania."

"Come on!" Graves protested. "What is this about? Kurt Angle has an agenda against Seth Rollins."

"What?" Booker objected, making the suggestion sound ridiculous. "All he said was Rollins has to compete. He's just trying to avoid any more ridiculous antics from Vega."

"Well I don't like it. At all. And Zelina Vega won't like it either, you can trust me on that."

"What a shame that'll be," Cole said dryly.

Kurt's promo continued, but as far as Seth and Zelina's angle was concerned, it was over.

* * *

After the next match, Seth and Zelina were shown arriving at the arena, seeming indifferent to the fact they were more than an hour late. They didn't get far before Renee Young approached them.

"Zelina, Seth, can I get a moment of your time, please?"

Zelina looked a long way from impressed by the prospect, but she did stop walking, Seth standing by his side.

"You're rather late arriving," Renee said as an opening.

It was clear by her expression that Zelina took offense to that. She actually recoiled a little. "Oh, I'm sorry, Renee McMahon," she spat. "I forgot that I have to show up here and answer to you." As was often the case, the New York in her accent got thicker when she was annoyed.

"Sorry, I didn't mean anything by it," Renee said quickly. "I was just trying to lead in to my question about whether you're aware of Kurt Angle's announcement?"

Zelina glanced up at Seth, then looked back at Renee. "What announcement?" she asked with a real edge to her tone.

"Seth has to face Finn Balor one on one tonight. If he doesn't compete, he forfeits the title match at Wrestlemania."

"God damn it!" Seth exclaimed in frustration, pacing around behind Zelina.

Meanwhile, she glared viciously at Renee for delivering the bad news, as if being the messenger made it her fault. "In ancient Greece, you would have been killed for this." Zelina paused. "Luckily, we've evolved," she added, calming down a little. She slapped Seth on the chest without looking at him. "Do you know who this is right here?"

"Seth Rollins," Renee replied cautiously.

"This is the _rebuilt_ Seth Rollins," Zelina clarified. "And tonight, he will beat Finn Balor. Watch him."

With that, Zelina walked away, Seth following closely behind.

* * *

With Finn Balor in the ring, ready for Raw's main event, Seth Rollins' music hit.

"And here comes the man Zelina Vega now describes as the rebuilt Seth Rollins," Cole said. "As it stands, Rollins is the man who will face Braun Strowman at Wrestlemania for the WWE Universal Championship."

"What do you mean 'as it stands'?" Graves demanded as Rollins and Vega walked out onto the stage.

"Rollins isn't competing in the match yet," Cole pointed out. "If he doesn't, he forfeits his Wrestlemania opportunity."

"Wait a minute," Booker said. "It looks like Zelina Vega is coming over here."

Indeed she was, while Seth went down to the ring. There was no fourth chair or headset available for a guest commentator, so Zelina pointed at Booker and ordered, "Move."

"What?" Booker asked her, incredulous.

By now, Graves was already on his feet. "Are you deaf, Booker? The lady said move."

"Move!" Zelina repeated even louder, pointing towards the backstage area.

Reluctantly, Booker took of his headset and got up. The fans booed what was happening. Zelina was getting heat quite quickly.

"Zelina Vega is joining us for commentary, apparently," Cole said, using the last word as a bit of a dig at her.

"That's right, Cole," she said, sitting down after putting her headset on. "Since there's so much obvious bias against my client and I on this show, I decided someone should redress the balance. What we're about to watch is the rebuilt Seth Rollins defeat Finn Balor."

The match had just started in the ring. "And we're underway in this one," Cole announced. "With that, Kurt Angle's stipulation about Rollins forfeiting his Wrestlemania match no longer applies."

"It never should have applied to start with," Vega said heatedly.

"This is exactly what I was saying earlier," Graves cut in, sucking up to their guest. "I said Kurt Angle has an agenda against Seth Rollins."

The commentary table was shown on the screen as Zelina pointed her infamous finger at Graves. "Corey, don't interrupt me again. But you are right; Angle does have an agenda. But you see, so do I. My agenda is that by the time Wrestlemania is over, Seth Rollins will be the Universal Champion."

With that, they settled into actually calling the match, which turned out to an unsurprisingly high quality contest between two of the best in the business. Both men went through periods of having the upper hand.

The end appeared that it might be at hand when Finn seemed to get a second wind, suddenly hitting a string of moves on Rollins, who was figuratively on the ropes. The only problem Balor had was that the referee had accidently been knocked down a minute or so earlier by Seth.

"I wish I could say it was a pleasure," Zelina said to the other two commentators before tearing her headset off and leaving the table.

"Where's she going?" Cole demanded.

The noise from the crowd rose when they saw her marching down the ramp. They knew she was going to do something, and were trying to alert Finn to the danger.

"Slingblade," Graves called out as Balor hit the move.

Seth was trying to make it back to his feet in a corner on the back side of the ring. Sensing an opportunity to win, Finn started walking backwards towards the opposite corner, psyching himself up. His intention was to deliver a dropkick into the corner, which would then set up the Coup de Grace.

Unfortunately for the Irishman, Zelina had just entered the ring and was now standing behind him.

"Look out, Finn!" Cole called out.

As soon as Balor was in range, Zelina kicked him as hard as she could between the legs.

With the crowd booing and groaning in equal measure, Finn collapsed to the mat, screaming in pain and holding his wounded area.

"That was blatant!" Cole objected strongly. "Blatant low blow by Vega. That's a disqualification right there."

"No referee to call it," Graves pointed out.

The aforementioned referee was just starting to stir. Seeing that, Vega bailed from the ring. From the outside, she yelled, "Seth! Get on him! Quick!"

Rollins seemed to come to his senses and got to his feet. He found himself presented with a gift of the highest order. Balor was on all fours in the middle of the ring.

"Oh, come on!" Cole protested as Rollins hit the ropes.

"Curb Stomp," Graves called. "Cover!"

The referee had just crawled back into a position where he could make a count.

One.

Two.

Three.

There was barely a reaction from the crowd to the three count, such was the cheapness of the win.

"This is pathetic," Cole complained.

Vega and Rollins didn't seem to agree. She had joined him in the ring, and was raising his hand triumphantly.

Cole went on. "That's the second time Balor has had a victory all but in the bag over Rollins, only for Zelina Vega to get involved and cost him. Someone should do something about these two."

As if on cue, Seth's music quickly faded out.

"BRAUN!"

The fans went crazy as the champion's music hit. Zelina and Seth whipped around to face the stage as the monster came walking on to it. Her eyes were wide in fear.

"Braun Strowman!" Cole yelled. "You've got to believe he's coming for Rollins."

He might well have been, but he wasn't going to get his wish. Before he was halfway down the ramp, Zelina was practically pushing Seth out of the ring.

"Rollins and Vega are in full retreat, and who can blame them?" Graves asked as number one contender and manager climbed over the barrier into the crowd.

Strowman hit the ring, looking out at the two people he had chased off, who were now safely about ten rows back from ringside.

Raising both arms, the champion shouted, "Braun!" The fans all joined in.

"Seth Rollins and Zelina Vega are terrified of Braun Strowman," Cole said. "Look at them."

"Wouldn't you be?" Graves countered. "Somehow, between now and Wrestlemania, La Arquitecta has got to come up with a plan that will see Seth Rollins beat Braun Strowman."

While Rollins and Vega retreated, Finn Balor began to slowly crawl across the ring. He would have been better served not to, since all he succeeded in doing was making Braun notice him.

Unable to get his hands on Rollins, Strowman decided to use the means available to him to send a message to his soon-to-be challenger.

"Wait a minute," Cole said as Balor was picked up. "Wait a minute! Strowman has Balor up on his shoulders."

After pointing at Seth, Strowman delivered a thunderous running powerslam. Standing back up, he gave the Braun pose once more. Again, the entire crowd shouted his name along with him.

Seth and Zelina were shown on the screen, both looking extremely concerned with what they had just seen.

Cole said, "If Braun Strowman hits the running powerslam on Seth Rollins at Wrestlemania, he will walk out the Universal Champion."

To close the show, Graves added, "Big problems on the mind of Zelina Vega, on the road to Wrestlemania."


	12. Chapter 12

_Monday Night Raw – 12_ _th_ _ March 2018 _

Kurt Angle was shown in his office backstage, busy on his phone, as often seemed to be the case. He looked up when Finn Balor approached him. Watching on the screen in the arena, the fans cheered loudly.

"Finn," Kurt greeted him. "Something I can do for you?"

"Yeah, Kurt, there is. You can tell me what you're doing about what happened last week. In case you missed it, I had Seth Rollins beat, again, and Zelina Vega cost me the match, again. That's twice now, and I've had more than enough of it."

"I understand. I totally understand," Kurt said in a placatory manner. "Frankly, I'm reaching my limit with Rollins and Vega as well. With that said, you'll probably be pleased to hear the match I've made for tonight's main event. You will be facing Seth Rollins one on one, again. And if you win, you'll be added to the Universal title match at Wrestlemania, making it a triple threat match."

The fans cheered their approval of that announcement.

Finn smiled to signal his appreciation. "Thanks, Kurt."

Angle just nodded as Balor walked out of the office.

On commentary, Corey Graves was not nearly as happy. "This is getting ridiculous. More bias from Kurt Angle against Seth Rollins. I want to know what Zelina Vega has to say about this."

* * *

Graves didn't have to wait long for his answer. After the next match, Renee Young was shown standing outside a locker room with Seth Rollins' name on the door. She had drawn the short straw with the assignment to break bad news again.

"I'm here outside Seth Rollins' locker room, hoping to get a word with Seth or Zelina Vega about tonight's main event, where Finn Balor with meet Rollins one on one. If Balor wins, he gets himself into the Universal Championship match at Wrestlemania."

Following that introduction, Renee knocked on the locker room door. It opened after just a moment, and Zelina walked out.

"Look who it is," Vega said dryly. "What is it this time, Renee? A plague of locusts? You must have some bad news to bring?"

"Actually, I do," Renee said, coming close to sounding pleased about the fact. She was obviously getting to the end of her rope with being talked down to. "Kurt Angle made a match for tonight: Seth Rollins against Finn Balor one more time, and if Finn wins, he gets added to the Universal title match at Wrestlemania."

Zelina closed her eyes and bunched her fists up at her sides in anger. After a moment, she was able to open her eyes again and speak. "You're not winning any friends here, Young, you know that? This is blatant abuse of power by Angle. Seth Rollins already won the right to face Braun Strowman, and Angle himself said the victory was legal."

"But Seth is still in the match," Renee pointed out. "The issue is whether or not Finn gets added."

Raising her eyebrows, Zelina cocked her head to one side slightly. It was hard to imagine a more threatening look. "You're on thin ice, Renee, and you're wearing spiked golf shoes. Not a good position to put yourself in. Do you understand me?"

"Yes. Uh, thank you for your time," Renee said hurriedly, before making herself scarce.

With a final glare in the direction of the retreating interviewer, Zelina went back into the locker room to break the news to her client.

"That went about as well as I expected," Graves commented.

* * *

A bit later in the show, Sasha Banks was shown doing some warm-up exercises in a hallway. Finn Balor, her partner in the recent Mixed Match Challenge, approached her.

"Hey, Sasha," he greeted her.

"Hi, Finn. How are you?"

"I'm doing a lot better now that I found out I have another shot at the Wrestlemania main event. I've got to beat Seth Rollins tonight."

Sasha nodded. "Yeah, I heard. You got this. You already nearly beat Rollins twice. If it wasn't for that witch Vega, you would have."

Finn nodded this time. "Exactly. That's why I came to find you. I wanted to ask you a favour."

"I'm listening," Sasha said, intrigued.

"Like you said, I've proven I can beat Rollins one on one. I should have done it at Elimination Chamber, and I should have done it again last week on Raw. But he's got Vega out there with him; that's the problem I've got. She always manages to find a way to get involved, and get away with it. I was thinking, maybe you could do something about her for me?"

Sasha considered that for a moment, then a smile spread across her face. "With the way she walks around here like she's the second coming? Sure, I got you."

Finn smiled broadly. "Thanks. I appreciate it."

"You got it."

"I don't like the sound of that for Zelina Vega," Cole opined as Balor walked away, leaving Banks with a mischievous look on her face.

Graves had to agree. "No, neither do I."

* * *

With Raw's main event at hand, Finn Balor was shown walking through the backstage areas towards Gorilla. There was an expression of sheer determination on his face. If he wanted to appear at the biggest stage of them all, he had to get the job done in the coming match. It was do or die for the Irishman.

"Here comes Finn Balor," Cole said. "He's focused; he's motivated. One victory over Seth Rollins is all that separates him from going to Wrestlemania."

The shot cut to Seth Rollins, also walking towards Gorilla. Contrary to his opponent, Seth didn't look focused at all. In fact, he looked distinctly distracted. The reason was obvious: he was walking alone. La Arquitecta – the one he had come to rely on - was nowhere to be seen.

"There's Seth Rollins," Graves said. "But where's Zelina Vega? She should be coming out here momentarily with her client. I smell the hand of Sasha Banks in this."

The show went to commercial.

* * *

After the break, Cole welcomed the viewers back, with Finn Balor already in the ring. "We're back on Monday Night Raw, and we've taken our final commercial break. We'll be with our main event until its conclusion, when we'll find out if Finn Balor is going to Wrestlemania."

Rollins' music hit, drawing some boos from the fans. He walked immediately out onto the stage, but stopped for a moment to look back at the curtain. He spread his arms in confusion, clearly lost as to where his manager was.

"Here comes Seth Rollins," Booker announced. "And as you can see, he's not sure, as we're not, where Zelina Vega is. Since Elimination Chamber, they've gone everywhere side by side."

"I don't know where Vega is, but it's obvious that Seth's not focused or prepared for this match," Graves objected. "It should be postponed until we can figure out what's going on."

"Postponed," Booker mocked. "Or maybe Seth can just wrestle Finn one on one, how about that?"

"Wait a minute," Cole interrupted.

The shot had just changed to show some kind of dingy backstage storeroom. Sasha Banks was in there, putting the finishing touches on tying Zelina Vega to a wooden chair. There were black chords securing each of her wrists to the arms of the chair, and her ankles were secured to the legs in the same manner. Tying a knot in the final, longer chord, which was wrapped around Vega's chest below her breasts to secure her to the back of the chair, Sasha smiled in satisfaction at her handiwork.

"You're going to regret this, Banks!" Zelina raged at the top of her voice, straining ineffectually against her bonds. "This had nothing to do with you! Now you've attracted my attention, and that's not going to end well for you!"

"Girl, do you ever stop shouting at people?" Sasha asked, cringing away from her.

Ignoring the question, Zelina screamed, "You'll pay for this! Let me go! Now!"

"What, so you can go out there and ruin Finn's match again? I don't think so, boo."

Zelina roared like a wild beast, straining to break free. "I'll get you Sasha! You'll regret this!"

"I think I've heard enough of that garbage," Sasha said. "Besides, I don't want someone coming in here before the match is over and letting you go, now do I?" With that, she rolled up a white cloth that she had been holding and crammed it into Zelina's mouth.

"Mmmppph!" the Latina cried in surprise.

"Now something to keep that in there," Sasha said. She had one more white cloth to use. She forced it between Zelina's teeth, then tied it around her head tightly. There was no way she would be able to force the packing out of her mouth.

Over the top of continuous, but muffled, rage-filled protests, Sasha made for the door. Before leaving the room, she gave a cheeky little wave. "Bye, Zelina. Have a good night."

"Mmmmmppphhhh!" Vega screamed after her as the door closed.

With that, the shot returned to the ring, where the match between Balor and Rollins was underway.

"Cole, Sasha Banks is out of control," Graves complained. "Braun Strowman was out of control last week. Finn Balor was out of control the week before that. Every week we have people attacking Seth and Zelina, and Angle does nothing about it. I'm telling you, there's an anti-Rollins conspiracy going on here on Raw."

Cole didn't sound sympathetic in the least. "Personally, I think that new look suited Zelina Vega. Maybe we can find a storeroom for her every week? It's certainly a lot quieter out here without her."

"You think this is funny?" Graves demanded.

"It kind of is," Booker had to admit. "Actions have consequences in this world, as Zelina Vega is finding out right now."

"You want to talk about actions and consequences?" Graves countered. "I wouldn't want to be Sasha Banks after tonight, I can tell you that."

As it had been the previous week, the Balor – Rollins match proved to be one of the best of the night. The action was back and forth, with both men having the advantage for substantial periods. While the contest went on, there were short, periodic cuts back to the room where Zelina had been left by Sasha. She was shown struggling with her bonds and yelling into gag. None of her efforts were producing a noticeable result, and no one was coming to her rescue.

In a carbon copy of the previous Raw episode, the match took a decisive turn when Balor seemed to get a second wind and hit a string of fast-paced offensive moves.

"Slingblade!" Booker called as Finn hit the move. "Rollins is in big trouble."

"This is very reminiscent of last week," Cole said.

Indeed it was. Balor started backing up into the corner in preparation to run across and hit Rollins with a dropkick into the opposite corner. This was the moment in the previous week's match where Zelina had interfered and cost Finn the match with a low blow. This week, she wasn't there to do it.

Spiriting across the ring, Finn launched himself at Seth, connecting with a powerful dropkick. The fans were going wild, sensing a victory on the cards.

"Finn Balor heading to the top rope!" Cole yelled over the raucous atmosphere.

"Someone stop this!" Graves protested. "This is not right!"

He was the only one in the arena who seemed to think so. The fans went crazy as Balor came off the top rope and connected with a Coup de Grace.

"Balor into the cover!" Cole called.

Everyone in the crowd joined in with the count.

"One!"

"Two!"

"Three!"

"He did it! Finn Balor wins!" Booker called out loudly.

"Finn Balor is going to Wrestlemania!" Cole added.

"This was a travesty!" Graves raged. "Seth Rollins was in no state of mind to compete out here without his manager. I blame Balor, I blame Banks, and I blame Angle!"

"Blame whoever you want," Cole said while Balor celebrated with the fans. "Finn Balor will compete in a triple threat match at Wrestlemania against Seth Rollins and Braun Strowman, and the Universal Championship will be on the line."

The shot cut back to the room Zelina had been shut away in. She still hadn't been able to do anything to free herself. The door opened and Kurt Angle walked in.

"Gmm mmph mmmmpph!" she growled at him through the effective gag.

"I'm sorry this happened," Kurt said, quickly setting about untying the cloth that was wedged in between her teeth. He pulled it free and she spat the mouth packing out onto the floor.

"Untie me, God damn it!" she raged at him. "I need to get out there to Seth!"

"It's a bit late for that," Kurt said as he worked on freeing her wrists. "Balor already won."

Zelina roared like a wounded animal and thrashed against her bonds once more. "This is your fault, Angle! You let this happen! You practically made this happen!"

"Just sit still so I can get you free, will you?"

To Angle's surprise, she actually did as he asked. Within thirty seconds, all of the bonds were removed. Zelina shot up out of the chair as soon as she was able and rushed out into the hallway. There was a cameraman out there.

"Banks!" Zelina snarled, looking right into the camera lens. She had the expression of a woman possessed by the devil, such was her anger. While she ranted, the Raw branding appeared in the corner of the screen, signalling that the show was about to go off air. "I'll make you regret tonight. You just wait. I'll make sure you get hurt for doing that to me. I'll make sure you get hurt so badly that every time you close your eyes during your rehab, you see my face. I'll make sure you get crippled, Sasha. And then I'll haunt you. Watch me."


	13. Chapter 13

Women could be strange at times, Seth thought. Zelina had barely said a word to him on their drive back to their hotel after Raw, even when he had tried to strike up conversation. He had been given the distinct impression that she didn't want to talk. It was as if he had done something to upset her, but when he had resorted to asking her that directly, she had curtly told him that he hadn't. It didn't make any sense.

Sitting in his hotel room, he was struggling to relax. He wasn't an argumentative person, and it got to him when he felt like something was wrong between him and a family member or friend. Or girlfriend, if that was what Zelina was at this point. They hadn't been clear with each on that yet, in the early stage they were at. All he knew was they had spent several amazing nights together, and he had thought things were going great.

During their nights together, Seth had found Zelina to be a rather cautious lover. The sex hadn't suffered all that much as a result, but he had quickly learned not to be too forceful or allow himself to get too carried away. She liked to take things at her own pace; making sure he explored her body with delicacy. In a way, he had found it kind of a turn on to have to restrict himself like that. But he did hope that with time she would come to feel more at ease with him.

That was if they even got that far, he thought with a sigh. Maybe her strange mood after the show was because she was considering breaking things off with him for some reason? He didn't know what that reason might be, since they hadn't had a fight, and so far as he knew, he hadn't done anything wrong. What he did know was that if she did break it off, it would make their fledgling working relationship extremely awkward.

"Should have thought about that before you went to that party and fucked her," he mumbled to himself. Maybe it really had been a mistake to get involved with her?

Seth's phone bleeped, signalling the arrival of a message. He was glad that someone had chosen to distract him from his train of thought. It wasn't leading anywhere he wanted to go. He picked up his phone from where he had distractedly thrown it on the bed and read the message.

_Zelina Vega: Can you please come to my room? 227_

Well, if she was going to break it off, the moment was seemingly at hand. He thought about sending a message back, but what was the point? It would be easier to go down to the second floor and hear what she had to say. It would hurt if she was going to end it, but it wasn't like he hadn't been in that positon before. He would get through it. Better now than after it had gotten serious between them.

With that resigned attitude, Seth left his room and descended to the second floor in an elevator. Room 227 happened to be quite nearly the elevators, so he was soon knocking on Zelina's door. While he waited a few seconds for an answer, he sighed, bracing himself for the worst.

The door opened and Seth was surprised by what he saw. He couldn't remember ever having seen a person look so downcast in his life. Something was clearly badly wrong, and he no longer thought he was the reason for it. That wasn't the vibe she was giving at all. No, something else was going on. Zelina didn't say anything; she just took a couple of steps back, looking at him with a scared expression on her face.

"What is it? What's happened?" he asked with concern, hurrying into the room and closing the door.

As soon as he approached her, Zelina burst into tears and almost collapsed against him, hiding her face against his chest. Her arms wrapped around his waist, holding onto him for dear life.

"Oh, God," he said, taken aback by what was happening. He had no idea where all this was coming from, or what had caused it. "What's wrong, Zelina. Try and talk to me," he encouraged, holding her. It felt like that was what she needed.

"I can't," she sobbed, face still buried in his chest. He could feel her tears dampening his T-shirt.

For a moment, Seth was at a loss as to what to do. Get her talking, one way or another, he decided after a moment. He needed to find out what the hell had happened. Had she gotten some bad news from her family, maybe?

"Come and sit down with me," he urged softly, cautiously leading her over to the bed. He was pleased that she allowed him to guide her without resisting. She continued her almost hysterical crying the whole way.

Sitting down on the edge of the bed was awkward with Zelina still clinging to him as if her very existence depended on it. "Hey, hey, it's okay. I'm here," he said, voice as soothing as he could make it as he attempted to calm her down. Getting her to stop crying was the first priority. She had ended up perched on his lap, still resting her head against his chest, albeit now turned to the side instead of burying her face in his shirt.

"I don't know how I did it," she gasped out through her tears.

"Did what, sweetheart?" he asked. The final word just came out without him consciously choosing it.

"Tonight," was all she could manage to get out.

Seth tenderly stroked the top of her head. "I want to help you, but I need you to tell me what's wrong. What happened tonight? Did someone say something to you in the locker room?" he guessed.

Even as he asked the question, Seth realised that whatever the problem was it was more serious than that. He felt like an idiot for making such a stupid guess.

Zelina started taking deep breaths to try and get her crying under control, but he could feel her literally shaking in his arms. The poor thing was terrified by whatever was going through her head.

"Do you want me to get some help? I can get Amann in here if you need me to," he suggested, referring to WWE's ringside doctor, who was always on the road with everyone else, and available on call if needed.

"No," Zelina said, her tears finally starting to subside.

She had probably cried herself out, Seth thought. "Okay, no doctor," he said gently. "But I need to know what's going on. You're scaring me. What happened tonight?"

Zelina still refused to look up at him, or relinquish her tight grip around his waist, but she did start to open up. "I had to relive it all over again."

"Relive what?" Seth asked, still at a loss.

Zelina sniffed loudly, still shaking in his arms. "When I was nineteen, I was dating a guy. He was a few years older than me. He liked to go out and party, and we would get drunk. There was one night he got really smashed. I'd had a few drinks, but I wasn't gone like he was."

She paused for a second to try and gather herself. Seth felt like he already knew where this might be going, and he could feel his anger building inside.

"We ended up back at his place," she went on. "He wanted sex, but there was something about the way he was acting towards me that put me off. I said I wasn't in the mood. He wasn't interested in listening to that. He kept kissing me and putting his hands on me. I said no, quite clearly no, and tried to push him off me. That was when he changed."

"Oh, God," Seth said quietly, holding her tighter. He hadn't come to her room expecting to hear something like this, and he wasn't ready for it. He couldn't even bring himself to tell her to go on.

She did so anyway, tears flowing down her cheeks again. "He got so angry with me, telling me not to fucking tell him no. I tried to get up and leave. I just wanted to get out of there and never go back. But before I could even get off the bed, he grabbed me and threw me back down, then he pinned me down. I was lying on my front, trying to fight him off, but he was like a wild animal all of a sudden."

Seth knew what she was going to end up telling him now. He hated to have to listen to it, but at the same time, he knew that she needed to tell him. Whatever had triggered these memories in her head had happened earlier in the night. If someone at WWE had touched her, he would beat them to within an inch of their lives before the company even had a chance to fire them.

"He told me not to fucking fight him and started calling me names," Zelina said pitifully. "I was still trying to get away, but then he said, 'Fine, if that's how you're going to be.' The next thing I knew, he was tying my hands behind my back. That's when I froze. I couldn't have fought him anymore even if he hadn't done that. I was too scared. But somehow I managed to try and yell for help."

Now Seth knew exactly what had upset her. It wasn't that someone had assaulted her back at the arena, thank God. It was the scene she had been asked to film with Sasha Banks, being tied up in the storeroom.

"He told me to shut the fuck up, and he put his hand over my mouth," she recounted, now shaking like a leaf. "I was still trying to yell, hoping that somehow, someone would stop what was happening. I had worn some knee high socks when we'd gone out, and I'd taken them off when we got into bed. He took one of them and used it to gag me."

"Oh my God," Seth breathed, feeling himself tearing up. How could some men be such animals?

"It was tied around my head, just like Sasha did tonight. It stuffed my mouth so much I could barely breathe. We were in the house by ourselves, and there was no way I could possibly call out loud enough for anyone outside to hear me. So I just lay there while he… while he…" She couldn't finish. Instead, she wailed like a baby, holding onto Seth so tightly that it hurt.

Knowing full well what the final two words would have been, Seth didn't need to hear them. The pain in his heart was much greater than that coming for her vice-like waist lock. His face had visibly darkened in anger. Picturing how terrified the poor girl must have been going through that ordeal was not even possible. It was no wonder she was a cautious lover. It was a surprise she ever wanted a man near her again after what this piece of shit, whoever he was, had done to her. "I'm so sorry," was all Seth could think of to say.

"I thought he was going to kill me when he was done," she sobbed, seeming not to have heard him. "I just lay there and waited for it to happen. But when it was over, he actually untied me and took the sock out of my mouth. He started talking like it had all been some kinky game we'd been playing. I think he must have realised how much of an evil thing he'd done. I was just glad to be alive, so I put my clothes back on and got out of there as soon as I could. I'm surprised he just let me go, but he did. I got out of that house and I ran. I ran all the way home without stopping. It must have been about three miles but I ran the whole way."

"Please tell me they put him away for it," Seth asked.

"I never told anyone about it," Zelina admitted between a fresh bout of tears. She sounded embarrassed, which only made Seth feel even more anger towards her rapist.

"I couldn't tell anyone," she was saying. "I was too scared of him. I was just glad that he never called or tried to contact me again. I've never seen him since, and I never want to."

The son of a bitch had played it smart, Seth raged internally. He hadn't sent any text messages that might come back to incriminate him, or tried to go and speak to Zelina and talk her around to his fucked up way of thinking, whatever that was. He had just gone on as if nothing had happened, probably to do the same thing to other girls in the future.

"He's never going to come near you again. No one's ever going to hurt you again," Seth promised her, wishing that somehow he could take all the pain away. He knew that was never going to happen, though. Those terrible, awful memories of that night would be with her forever. The evil bastard had scarred a lovely, innocent girl for life.

Again, his words didn't seem to register. Zelina just rambled on in her own train of thought. "It just brought it all back tonight, when they had Sasha tie me up like that. The producer gave her that cloth thing to stuff in my mouth and I was panicking so badly inside."

"Why didn't you say something? Why did you just let them do it?"

Zelina looked up at him for the first time since they had sat down on the bed. The look on her face was desperate. "How could I? I only just made the main roster, and they're giving me an insane push that I don't even think I deserve. Now I'm going to show up and start refusing to do segments? How would that look? Especially since, from their point of view, it was something simple they were asking of me."

"And of course you couldn't give them the reason you didn't want to do it," Seth added compassionately. What a horrid situation to have been in. And with no way to get out of it, she'd had to sit there for about fifteen minutes, going through mental hell.

"I'm so sorry," he said, so softly it was barely audible. He gave her a gentle kiss on the forehead, hoping that would help somehow.

"I had to sit there with that camera guy in my face, trying to stay in character. And all the time, I could feel what it was like on that bed that night."

"I wish there was something I could say or do," Seth said, feeling useless. "I wish I could take those memories away and hide them forever."

Zelina got off his lap and climbed onto the bed, intending to lie down. "Lie with me, please," she said.

Seth moved over so that she could get comfortable, then lay down beside her. She was curled up, with her back to him. "Do you want me to hold you?" he asked, not wanting to do anything to scare her in the fragile state of mind she was in.

"Yes," she said. She gave a grateful little moan when he slipped an arm around her stomach and cuddled up to her. "And you don't need to do anything. You listened. That's what I needed. You're only the second person I've ever told that story to. I didn't plan on doing it, but I just had to after what they had me do tonight. I couldn't face the idea of spending the night alone, living through it again and again."

"You don't have to, muñeca," Seth promised her. "I'll stay right where I am and hold you all night if that's what you need me to do."

"Yes," she replied, using her own arm to hold his tightly against her.

Seth just lay there in silence, knowing that by being there, he was helping. Before long, he could feel that Zelina's breathing had softened significantly. "You awake?" he whispered.

As he had suspected, no response was forthcoming. She had exhausted herself with all the emotional distress and crying. "Poor thing," he whispered, his heart still on the point of breaking over the harrowing tale he had heard.

She had said that the guy who had attacked and raped her had never tried to contact her again. A part of Seth wished the piece of shit would show his face, so that he could kick it in. "Fucking scum," he muttered to himself.

The night had taken the most unpleasant turn Seth could possibly have imagined. Hearing the girl he was just starting to get into a relationship with opening her heart to him about something as appalling as that was something that he would never forget. In a way, he was now also scarred by what had happened, not that he begrudged her that at all.

If there was any kind of silver lining, which of course there couldn't possibly be with something like that, it was that Seth felt like he and Zelina would grow a lot closer because of what she had shared with him. She had chosen to talk to him, to trust him, and he had apparently done at least an acceptable job of listening. He figured it was understandable that he now felt a lot more protective towards her than he would ordinarily have done for a girl he had only been with for a week and a half.

Leaning forward, he tenderly kissed the top of her head. "Sleep well, muñeca. You're safe with me."


	14. Chapter 14

David Hernandez walked into his local bar, as he did most nights of the week. Having a few beers was always needed after finishing a shift at the shitty warehouse job he found himself lumbered with. Who wanted to work packing and shifting boxes all day? Not him, that was for damned sure. But since he had a criminal record, he wasn't able to get anything better.

It was all that stupid bitch's fault. Rape, using violence to override consent. That was what they had charged him with, and somehow managed to find him guilty of. The whole thing had been a ridiculous overreaction on her part, and yet somehow he had ended up doing six years inside. Six fucking years, for nothing, he raged, as he did every day. Six years of his life that he would never get back.

So what if he had gotten a bit forceful with her in the heat of the moment? What difference did that even make? If anything, surely it made the sex more enjoyable to get a bit kinky with it? But no, the little slut had decided to go running to the cops and claim that she had been raped, using the bruises on her wrists where she had been tied up as evidence of his wrongdoing. That, when added to the DNA evidence they had been able to recover from her, had been enough to convict him, despite his defence that yes, she had been tied up and they had had sex, but as part of a bondage game. How had that not stood up in court? The justice system in America was totally screwed up, he thought.

Now, with a criminal record for that kind of offense, whether deserved or not, his prospects in life were severely limited. That was why he worked a crappy warehouse job fit for braindead monkeys, had to drink in this dive bar surrounded by the dregs of society, and lived in a shit hole of an apartment in one of the roughest areas of The Bronx borough of New York City. All because of that fucking whore and her parents encouraging her to go to the cops.

"Usual?" the bartender asked when David sat down on a stool at the bar. The question also constituted a greeting, barely.

"Yeah," David replied, looking around the place. Great, he thought irritably. There was a group of guys at the other end of the bar. Late teens or early twenties, he guessed. They were talking loudly and laughing at each other, with complete disregard to anyone else around them. They were reacting to whatever nonsense they had convinced the bartender to put on the TV. It looked like wrestling. How pathetic.

"There you go," the bartender said, returning with David's preferred beer.

"Can't you put something better on the TV?" he asked impolitely as he handed over money to pay for the drink.

"Sorry, man. Those guys were here before you and asked to have that on."

"Great way to treat your regulars," David griped, even though he knew he had lost the argument. He didn't bother to acknowledge the bartender when he returned with his change.

"Hey, can you turn it up a bit?" one of the young guys at the end of the bar called to the bartender.

David sighed, trying to control his temper. As if he wanted to sit there listening to fucking wrestling, or idiots shouting about wrestling. But he wasn't to let them make him walk out, either. Why should he leave because of their obnoxiousness?

A few minutes went by while David worked on his first beer. Drinking it started to take the edge of his bad mood, which was why he came here after work in the first place. He cringed when one of the wrestling fans shouted something at the top of his voice, obviously trying to impress his buddies.

"Braun!"

Braun? What a stupid word to shout. Then David realised that the guy was copying some weird looking meathead on the TV, who was standing there with his arms raised above his head. Apparently there was an arena full of simpletons doing the same thing.

David looked back at his beer, thinking that it was time to down it and order a second. On the TV, some music had started playing and the audience were now booing. How did they get so into something as silly as grown men pretending to hit each other?

"Here come Seth Rollins and Zelina Vega," a commentator announced.

That got David's attention. Zelina Vega? What were the odds? There was a girl on the wrestling show with the same name as one of his ex-girlfriends. His Chiquita. Sadly, she had been another one who had freaked out as soon as the sex got enjoyable, and had accused him of raping her. At least she hadn't been vindictive enough to go to the cops about it. Even so, he regretted that he'd felt it necessary not to contact her again after that night. Some girls were just not worth the hassle.

He hadn't thought about Zelina for a long time. Man, she had been hot, though. What he would do to have a girl like that now. A great kisser, he remembered.

Picking up his beer, David looked at the TV, deciding to check out this Zelina Vega character. As he did so, there happened to be a full shot of her face on the screen. He froze with the glass halfway to his mouth. "Fuck off," he said to himself. It was the same girl. It had to be. Although she now had straight black hair instead of a brown perm, she looked too much like the girl he had dated eight years ago for it not to be her.

Zelina was speaking into a microphone, talking down to the huge guy in the wrestling ring like he was retarded. She was telling him things would be different at Wrestlemania, whatever that was. There was some long-haired tool standing next to her. A teammate of some kind? Who knew? What David did know was that it was definitely the same girl he had dated. He was one hundred per-cent sure after she yelled something at the crowd about shutting up while she was talking. The New York in her accent got more pronounced when she was annoyed; a trait he recalled quite clearly.

She seemed more condescending than he remembered. But then, she was playing a part on a TV show. It was no indication of what she was really like, necessarily. Maybe she was like that, though? Maybe she had made a lot of money, and now thought she was better then where she had come from?

David wondered how much money she might be worth. He didn't know what wrestlers got paid, but it was obviously going to be a lot more than he got for packing boxes. Their lives had gone separate ways, and she had come up roses, while his life had gone badly wrong. That was some bullshit. If they had stayed together, he would have been banging a TV star right now, and a fucking stunning one at that. He would have been living the life of luxury he deserved, not sitting in this dump.

The solution seemed obvious: he had to get back with her. Eight years was a long time, but maybe that was a good thing. She would have had plenty of time to forget how stupid she had been to run away from him. After all, had they not been happy together? Of course they had.

There was a problem, though. How to get in contact with her? The conversation they needed to have could only happen face to face, but he didn't believe for a minute that she would still be living in the same neighbourhood as she had all those years ago. No, TV stars didn't live there. So, where could he track her down?

"Get you another beer?" the bartender asked.

David nodded, not taking his eyes off the screen. Sadly, Zelina's little part in the show seemed to be coming to an end. But he had seen and heard enough.

Twitter. That would be a good place to start. Taking out his phone, he loaded up the app and logged into the account he never used. He didn't even get halfway through typing her name before Twitter offered to fill it in for him. Well, shit. Wasn't that something? Zelina Vega really had made a name for herself.

Tapping on her profile, he saw that she even had one of those stupid blue ticks. Only famous people got those, that much he did know.

'Business manager to the rebuilt Seth Rollins,' he read from her bio section. Wrestling nonsense, he assumed. Seth Rollins was probably the tool who had been standing next to her. And business manager? What did that mean? Was she really making mad money on a wrestling show without even being a wrestler? How the fuck had she managed to pull that off?

David paid for his second beer when it arrived and made a start on it. Twitter didn't seem to be offering much of interest, so he loaded up an internet browser instead and searched her name.

God damn, some of the pictures of her were amazing. She was a sexy bitch anyway, but this wrestling company seemed to some great shit with makeup. He would look through them in more detail when he got home. A lot more detail.

For now, he had something else in mind. He typed into the search engine: how do you meet wrestlers? The search engine suggested correcting to: how to meet WWE Superstars.

"Superstars? For fuck's sake," David said with a grunt of a laugh. But the search had come up with something interesting. Apparently WWE did free meet and greet events. He tapped on the link to open that page. It brought up a list of names, dates and venues where fans could meet the wrestlers they liked.

David scrolled past names that meant nothing to him, then bingo! There it was. 'Meet Seth Rollins with Zelina Vega in Pittsburgh on March 29th.' The venue listed was a toy store, as most of the others had been. So wrestling really was kid's stuff.

"Pittsburgh," he muttered to himself. It wasn't close to New York, but it was within driving distance. He couldn't afford to fly, so he would have to drive. Six hours each way, he guessed. Fuck it, it was worth it to try and get back with Zelina. It could be life-changing for him.

"Hell, it'll be life-changing for her, too," he mumbled in self-satisfaction.

"Sorry?" the bartender asked. He had been standing nearby, making a sloppy job of wiping the bar down.

"Fuck off, I'm thinking," David told him aggressively, losing his cool without realising he was doing it.

March 29th, he thought after the bartender walked away. That date wasn't far away at all. David navigated back to his search page and typed in Zelina's name again. Looking at the images, he felt something stirring inside him.

"It'll be nice to see you again," he whispered, looking into her eyes. Such gorgeous eyes. Eyes that she should have only for him.


	15. Chapter 15

No mention had been made of Zelina's horrifying story since the night she had recounted it all to Seth. He had been reluctant to bring it up himself, fearing upsetting her. It had been obvious that she hadn't wanted to get into it again, either. The morning after she recounted it all, after he had stayed in her room and held her all night, she had thanked him for being there when she had needed him, and that had been that, as far as conversation was concerned.

However, Seth had noticed that in the couple of weeks since that night, Zelina had seemed closer to him, as he felt closer to her. He now believed that they had transitioned from two people having sex and hoping it might become something more, to a couple who were starting out in a relationship.

In part, that was because hearing her dreadful story had naturally made him feel much more protective of her. The very thought of what that evil bastard, who Seth still didn't have a name for, had done to her was enough to make his skin crawl. It had stunned him once he had thought about the fact that even while living through those appalling memories, Zelina had managed to put in a good performance for the cameras at Raw, and had even cut the required scathing promo on Sasha Banks after being rescued by Kurt Angle. Where exactly she had found the inner strength to do that, Seth couldn't even begin to imagine. Maybe she had tried to channel her hatred for her attacker towards Banks? That was a guess on his part, but it seemed like there might be some logic to it.

Seth told himself to stop thinking about those kinds of things, as hard as it was to do, and focus on the night out they had just enjoyed together. After all, they were on their way back to his place after the cosplay party she had invited him to. After such a fun and enjoyable time, he hoped that tonight might be the night where they could have 'that' conversation about whether or not it was time to consider what they had a relationship.

Catching sight of himself in the rear-view mirror, Seth had to smile. Cosplay had been a first for him, and had had to admit he hadn't been very imaginative with his choice of character. The specified criteria had been video game characters. He had decided to go as Super Mario, and had put together a costume consisting of blue dungarees, a red T-shirt, a red hat, a pair of white gloves and a ridiculous fake moustache. He had at least been rewarded with a giggling fit from Zelina when he had arrived to pick her up and take her to the home of her friends Dan and Laura, where the party had been held.

Zelina's costume, on the other hand, had been no laughing matter for him. In fact, he had found it hot as hell. Dressed in black leather pants, a red top with the top two buttons undone, and elbow length black leather gloves, she had informed him that she was Ada Wong, apparently of Resident Evil fame. The character meant nothing to him, but he was certainly on-board with the costume. She had even topped it off with a large plastic assault rifle.

"Slow down, Seth," Zelina said from the passenger seat of his Mercedes. "If we get pulled over, you're going to have some problems explaining the way you're dressed."

Glancing at her, Seth was warmed by her amazing smile. Such a natural beauty. She was one of those rare people who could make you feel positive and uplifted just by being around her.

"Speak for yourself," he said, returning his attention to the road and lowering his speed a little.

"I think my outfit is more easily explained than yours. You're wearing dungarees, Seth."

"Good point," he chuckled. At least he had discarded the fake moustache as soon as they had left the party. "This is a look I'm trying to bring back in."

"It was in before?" she asked in disbelief.

Seth laughed loudly. Even though he hadn't been able to drink, since he had offered to drive them, he had still really enjoyed the night, and considered it a shame that when they got to his place in a couple of minutes, it would be coming to an end. But there was still hopefully a chance to have 'that' conversation. It was quite an awkward thing to actually bring up, though.

"I enjoyed tonight a lot," he decided to open with.

"Me too. I'm really glad you came, and that you put the effort into getting a costume together."

"And agreed to drive," he added for her with a grin.

Zelina nodded. Without needing to worry about driving, she had worked her way through several bottles of beer during the night, but she wasn't drunk. "And agreed to drive," she agreed. "I'm a lucky girl."

Frustrated that the conversation wasn't lending itself to what he really wanted to say, Seth blundered on. "I'd say I was the lucky one."

She looked at him for a moment, possibly deciding what to say next. "Then I guess we're both lucky," she offered.

There was something in her tone that made Seth's stomach tighten up with nerves. She was giving him the chance to say what was on his mind, and that had to mean she was thinking along similar lines, didn't it?

"I think we are," he said. "Lucky to have found each other." Kill me now, he thought as soon as he said it. The way it had come out had sounded so corny.

The worst of his embarrassment was spared by turning into his street, then into his driveway a few houses along. By the time he had parked the car and killed the engine, Zelina still hadn't said anything. He looked at her, and found her looking back at him.

"We're both making a bit of a mess of saying what we want to say," she said with a nervous little smile. "I guess one of us just has to come out with it. I'm really happy when I'm with you, Seth. I don't see myself not wanting to be with you. I want us to be together."

"I want that, too," he assured her, glad that she had made it easier. "I'm usually not bad at expressing myself, but I've gone to pieces a bit here." He chuckled at his awkwardness.

"Just say what you want to say," she encouraged.

Fine, Seth decided. "I was thinking that it's starting to feel like this is a relationship, not just two people having fun. That's what I want. A relationship, I mean. I still managed to put it badly."

Zelina smiled again. "You put it just fine. And I want a relationship, too." Leaning across, she kissed him softly on the lips.

He replied with a slightly firmer kiss that had his body starting to warm up nicely. She tasted of beer and he could smell it on her breath, but he could not have cared less in that moment. They were together, officially. He felt so happy. To hell with trying to choose the perfect words, just tell her how you feel, he told himself.

"I'm the happiest guy you could imagine right now."

"Aww how sweet," she replied, sounding like her heart was melting. "I am, too, baby."

Baby? Seth asked himself. Was that the drink talking? She had never called him that before. He wasn't going to complain, though.

"We should probably get out of the car," she suggested with a giggle.

"Good idea. We've been sitting here in the dark for five minutes. The neighbours will be thinking we're scoping the place out for a robbery."

"Well, I have a big gun," Zelina laughed, holding up her plastic assault rifle. It was such a silly comment, and it was accompanied by a goofy grin.

Seth burst out laughing as he opened his door and got out. He was a bit loud for the time of night, but he couldn't help it.

"There goes any chance we had of sneaking in quietly," Zelina said, joining in with his infectious laughter as she also got out of the car.

"Might as well just kick the door in and storm the place then," he said.

As he approached the front door, Zelina took up a professional stance behind him, with her gun at the ready. "I'll cover you."

Laughing again, Seth fumbled around trying to unlock the door. Once he managed it, he pushed the door open and led the way into the house. As soon as he turned around in the hallway, Zelina was right there in front of him. She kicked the door shut behind her, looking up at him with an expression that conveyed only one thing. She wanted to end the night in the perfect way.

"I had a lovely night, Seth. Thank you. I'm so happy when I'm with you. I really missed that kind of thing in my life. I'm repeating myself like crazy here, but I meant it earlier when I said I'm lucky to have you."

"I love that you feel that way, but you don't have to keep telling me, muñeca," he replied warmly. With that, he leaned down and kissed her softly on the lips.

"You know what I want, baby?" she purred, grabbing a fistful of his shirt to keep him close to her.

"Yeah, I think I have a fair idea," he said, starting to get turned on.

"I want you to make love to me."

"Your wish is my command," Seth said, kissing her again. "But there is one condition. You have to keep your costume on."

Zelina smiled seductively. "Oh. You like this, huh?"

"Oh, yeah," he assured her. "I think I'm going to need to see Ada again in the future."

"I'll see what I can do," she teased.

Seth would have liked to have picked her up in his arms and carried her up to the bedroom, but he had to always keep the thought in the back of his mind that she needed him not to be forceful with her. It was something that might never change between them, thanks to the vile bastard who had changed her life forever. Maybe if he asked her first?

"I was thinking of carrying you upstairs, muñeca. But I didn't want to just do it in case…" He decided not to finish the sentence. She would know full well what he meant without him actually saying it.

"You can carry me. I trust you," she said, looking deep into his eyes.

It was a moment that Seth knew he would never forget. Hearing her say those final three words so explicitly meant so much to him. He could only imagine how hard it was for her to get herself into the mindset to put her faith in a man to treat her right after what she had endured in the past, yet she had done so for him. He knew with absolute certainty that he would never betray that trust by even making her think he might do something she didn't want to do. All he wanted was to convince her of that fact.

Careful to be gentle about it, he picked her up, and she wrapped her legs around his waist to hang on. She linked her gloved hands behind his neck for extra support. Seth kissed her softly on the lips again. "I'll never do anything to make you regret trusting me," he promised earnestly.

"I know you won't. That's why I trust you."

Seth realised in that moment that he loved Zelina. It was too soon to say so to her, but he knew what he felt. As he carried her up the stairs, he really felt like the girl in his arms was the one he wanted to spend his life with. He wondered if the raw emotions she had laid bare to him a couple of weeks before had brought him to the point of loving her faster than it might ordinarily have happened. Whatever the reason, it had happened. But, he decided, it was probably better to wait for her to say it first, if she came to feel love for him too. Things should be taken at her pace, not his.

After carrying Zelina into the bedroom, Seth lightly set her down on the bed, her head coming to rest on the pillows. He realised he had to get out of his stupid costume before there could be any love making. Dungarees were certainly not appropriate for the bedroom. He tossed the silly red hat to the floor, then started to undress. While he did so, Zelina just watched him from the bed, a contented look on her face.

"Seth?" she ventured when he was almost done.

"Yeah?"

"Thank you for being so caring and considerate towards me. I know I'm not the best lover in the world, but…"

"Hey, don't say that," he told her, feeling his heartstrings straining again. With the dungarees finally off, he tossed them into the corner of the room, probably never to be worn again. He climbed onto the bed beside her and they exchanged a sloppy kiss. "You have absolutely nothing to apologise for. After hearing what you went through, I think you're amazingly strong just for us to be here right now. You're a stronger person than I am, that's for sure."

"I feel weak, not strong," she said, sadness in her voice. "I feel like I should have been able to get it out of my head by now. Honestly, I had been doing a lot better until that scene they had me do the other week."

Seth put an arm around her, just wanting to comfort her by holding her. It didn't matter to him that bringing the subject up was in danger of killing the moment. If she needed to talk about it again, then that was what he would do. "No, you're not weak, not at all," he insisted. "You had the most appalling crime in the world committed against you, yet here you are, able to trust me."

"I trust you because you're a real man, not an animal. When you make love to me, I feel cared for, respected, even loved."

Despite how badly Seth wanted to say that was because he did love her, he held himself back and chose more cautious words. "You should feel that way."

"Loved?" she asked hopefully, giving him the distinct impression that she wanted, maybe needed him to say the magic three words. Even so, he held back again, not wanting to rush.

"Yes," he replied, looking her in the eye. He had said it, without actually saying it. It was a middle ground that he felt was better for them at this comparatively early stage.

With that, Zelina pulled him down on top her and started to kiss him passionately. "Then show me," she breathed in between their kisses.

And he did, spending over an hour focusing all of his efforts on pleasuring her in every way he could think of. Not only was it enjoyable for him, he felt like he was taking the final step in fully earning the trust she had pledged to him. He was showing her that even now that she had told him she trusted him, things would not change. He would never take advantage of her, he would never push her beyond what she was comfortable with, and he most certainly would never, ever force her. The awful memories might still live on in her head, but that part of her life was firmly in the past.


	16. Chapter 16

What a time it was to work for WWE, Zelina thought. In just seven days time, Wrestlemania week would be getting into full swing. Fans would be coming from all over the globe to attend Axxess, the Hall of Fame ceremony, NXT, Wrestlemania, Raw, and finally Smackdown.

For Zelina, these were crazy times indeed. She would be managing her on-screen client and off-screen partner in a main event match on the grandest stage of them all. At this time the previous year, she hadn't even had a contract offer from WWE. What a crazy pace they had pushed her at, she thought, still kind of baffled by it.

And it was set to continue, for on the Smackdown episode following Wrestlemania, the 2018 draft would take place, sending her and Seth to the blue brand as number one pick. From there, The Vega Cartel would be created. That whole concept still stunned her. The fact that she would act as leader to so many top level talents was mind-blowing.

But those events were more than a week away. Right now, she and Seth were in Pittsburgh, and there was a meet and greet session for them to get trough. Three hundred fans who had lined up since who knew what time in the morning for their wristbands would be getting signatures and photographs.

Zelina was glad that WWE did things like this. Although she played a hated heel character on Raw, the fans were almost invariably supportive of her. During each episode, her Twitter account would be barraged with positive and supportive messages about how good she was at her job. It was very humbling, and she was so appreciative of the fans as a result. Meet and greet sessions were not held in character either, so she could have a good time as much as she wanted.

"All set?" Seth asked her. They had settled in at their table, both with cups of coffee in front of them, along with a bunch of sharpie pens and a stack of glossy eight by ten promo pictures of them that could be signed for fans who didn't bring anything along with them.

"Yeah," she confirmed.

Satisfied, Seth signalled to the team member at the end of the line to let the first fan approach the table. The line snaked through the toy store towards the entrance all the way down at the front of the building.

Zelina was sitting closest to the end of the line, so she was the first one people would approach. An overweight girl seemingly dressed in all the Seth Rollins merch available was first to step forward. She was carrying a replica Universal Championship belt.

"Hi! How are you?" Zelina said happily.

"Hi, Zelina. Hi, Seth," the girl said without much sign of nerves. This wasn't her first rodeo, clearly. She put the belt on the table.

While Seth greeted the fan, who was obviously there to see him, Zelina looked at the belt. There were a few signatures on it. She heard the fan give her name as Claire.

"Can you sign my belt, please?" Claire asked Seth. "You're the only one I need to finish it."

"Oh, really?" Seth enquired as he took the top off a black sharpie. "You've got everyone who's held it? You got Lesnar?"

"Sure did," Claire said, proud of herself.

Zelina sipped her coffee, not put out that she wasn't part of the conversation. She wasn't the star here.

"There you go," Seth said once he had scrawled his signature in a free space.

"Thanks. Picture time?"

"Sure," Seth agreed.

Claire leaned awkwardly over the table and Zelina made sure to pose with a nice smile while one of WWE's team took a picture with Claire's phone.

With that done, Claire went on her way with a brief goodbye and her completed title belt.

* * *

Waiting in the line, David Hernandez was not happy. How early did these fucking people show up for these dumb signings? He had left with hours to spare in case of problems on the drive down from New York to Pittsburgh. Having encountered none, he had arrived at the toy store with a shit load of time to spare. But there had already been a God damned line outside!

After joining the line, he had found out from one of the wrestling nerds that you needed a wristband to even get in, and they were given out hours before the wrestlers even showed up.

People were prepared to stand in line in the street all day to meet his chiquita. Talk about crazy. But still, that was why she had to be worth a fortune now, didn't she? She was a genuine TV star. Not only that, she was breathtakingly sexy. He had done enough late night trawling through her images online recently to know that perfectly well.

With those things taken into account, David supposed he would be a lucky guy once they were back together. After all, not many guys got themselves a hot, rich chick, did they? Of course they didn't. But he would. Because they would get back together. Over the past few days, he had come to the realisation that it had to happen, come what may.

But before any of that could happen, he had to get to the front of the fucking line! It moved so slowly, and he couldn't even see where Zelina was from where he was standing because the line snaked around the dumb toy store and the shelves were in the way.

Eventually, a short while later, somehow without him losing his cool, David inched forward far enough to reach the end of the aisle. He leaned around a pillar that was still blocking his view. There she was! Sitting at a table, scribbling a signature onto a T-shirt for some dumb kid, was possibly the sexiest bitch he had ever seen. Fuck, how had he let himself lose her all those years ago? What a mistake that had been! Still, he couldn't change the past. What he could change was the future. Their future.

"Stunning, isn't she?" the guy next to David asked, seeing where he was focusing his attention.

"What the fuck would you know about it?" David snapped at him. The prick was lucky not to be swallowing his teeth, talking about his chiquita like that. He was dressed like a complete moron, too. Who walked around the place wearing body armour?

"Alright, calm down. Jesus Christ," the prick's friend said, jumping in to disarm the situation. He also had body armour on, and a long black wig. What a freak show this was.

David decided to let it go. If he took a swing at someone he would just get thrown out of the store, and that would be totally counter-productive. "Forget it," he mumbled.

The line moved forward again. David found himself unable to look away from Zelina. Damn, she was breath-taking to look at. He watched as another fan walked away from the table. Chiquita said something to the wrestler sitting next to her. Seth, or something, he remembered. They shared a laugh at whatever comment she had made. Something about their body language didn't sit right with David. Were they just on-screen colleagues, or was there more to it? Surely she wouldn't be with a guy like that, would she?

As he gradually moved forward, he continued to watch Zelina with rapt attention. The more he saw of her interacting with this Seth guy, the less he liked it. He became convinced that he was right. If you knew what you were looking for and studied carefully, you could tell there was something going on between them. No matter, he thought. Once his chiquita saw him again, she was sure to want to come crawling back, regretting having run off all those years ago. All he had to do was get to the front of the damned line, then make sure he said the right thing to her when he went up to the table.

The way David saw it, she could finish signing autographs for the rest of these dummies, then she could meet him for a coffee and they could talk properly. Or dinner. That was a better idea. He would offer to take her to dinner later. It couldn't be anywhere special, since he didn't have much money, but it would be a start.

* * *

Having Zelina with him was making the meet and greet session more enjoyable than usual for Seth. Although most of the fans had come out primarily to see him, she had been lovely with them all. Some of those who came to the table were up for a laugh, and there had been some great banter at times.

The latest example was a couple of guys who had come dressed as Roman and Dean. The guy playing Dean was particularly impressive, since his natural hair pretty much matched Ambrose's. Although he wasn't supposed to, Seth had walked around the table to get a picture with them in the trademark Shield pose.

"There was no place for me in that one," Zelina said to him once he sat back down, as the two guys made their exit. She was good-natured about it as ever.

"Don't worry. Before long everyone will be wanting pictures with the leader of The Vega Cartel so they can pose as your underlings."

"You think so?" she asked, giving him one of her biggest smiles.

"Absolutely."

With Zelina still facing Seth, the next fan approached the table, making right for her. "Hello chiquita. It's been a long time."

It took Seth a few seconds to figure out what was going on. In that time, he saw Zelina's smile change into a look of horror as she turned to look at the guy who had spoken to her. He was a Hispanic with slicked back black hair and a hard-looking face. He had eyes only for Zelina; not even acknowledging that Seth was there.

Seth was just processing the fact that this was him; the guy who had attacked and raped Zelina, when she leapt out of her chair. "Get him away from me," she cried out in panic, seeking refuge behind Seth.

"Don't be like that," the guy was saying, acting surprised by her reaction.

Now that his mind had caught up with the shocking turn of events, Seth angrily shoved his chair back and got up, beckoning the two big security guys who were standing nearby to come over. "Hey! Get this asshole out of here, now!" he ordered.

"I'm here to talk to her," the rapist said heatedly, pointing at Zelina. "You fucking stay out of it!"

"Seth, get him away from me!" Zelina begged, sounding scared to death.

The security men were walking over, but they were showing no particular urgency about it. They saw nothing threatening going on, Seth realised. "Move!" he barked at them. "Get him out of the building!"

Things were happening so fast. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Zelina go running off towards the back of the store, where they had been shown into the building through a delivery entrance. One of the WWE team members went after her, now that everyone was cottoning onto the fact that something serious was going on.

The rapist went to walk around the end of the table to go after her, but Seth quickly got in his way. "Don't even try it, you piece of shit. I'll drop you where you stand."

That seemed to push the guy over the edge. "Why, are you fucking her? You are, aren't you?" He wound back his fist, but that was when the security guys finally sprang into action. They both grabbed hold of the guy just as he brought his fist back to throw the punch, and started dragging him away from the table.

"I want to speak to her! Get the fuck off me!" he was shouting as he struggled against the two large men. He had no chance of overpowering both of them.

Watching him being dragged away, still shouting about talking to Zelina, Seth was dumbfounded for a moment. What the hell had just happened? Why had the son of a bitch decided to show up and try to speak to her? What on Earth made him think she would ever want to set eyes on him again after what he had done to her, let alone engage in conversation? He had to be crazy, and that was very bad news indeed. What if he decided to try and get to speak to her again somewhere else? Seth knew he couldn't allow that to happen. He had to get on the phone to Hunter and have them start working on getting a restraining order against the guy.

But first, he had to go after Zelina. Signing or no signing, he had to go and make sure she was okay. That was a ridiculous thought in itself, he thought as he headed off in the direction she had ran. Of course she wasn't okay. How could she be? The man who had tied her up, gagged her and raped her had just been standing right there in front of her. The poor girl had to have been terrified beyond anything he could even imagine.

Seth could quite clearly remember how it had felt when she had been sitting on his lap, in his arms, shaking like a leaf and crying hysterically at the memories of what she had been through that night with that bastard. She had been violated in the worst possible way, and had been lying there waiting to die, sure that she was going to be murdered so that she couldn't go to the cops about what had been done to her.

In an ideal world, Seth would have liked to have been alone with the guy in a dark alleyway. If that had been the case, only one of them would have walked away. But in front of a line of a hundred or more fans, some of them using their phones to film what was going down, it was a different story. If he had even thrown a punch, that would have been the end for him in WWE, regardless of the circumstances.

Reaching the back of the store, Seth found the door to the staff only areas being held open by one of the toy store's employees. She had clearly expected someone to come after Zelina. "What happened?" she asked as he approached.

"Someone upset her," was all the explanation he was prepared to offer. "Where did she go?"

"Into the staffroom. One of your guys went with her. It's just down there." The employee pointed to a door.

Seth hurried down the short hallway to the door in question. He dreaded to think what he might find behind it.

Pushing the door open, he was glad to see that things could definitely have been worse. Zelina was sitting on a couch, drying her eyes with a piece of tissue. The male WWE team member was just inside the door, keeping a watchful eye on her. Seth had half expected to find her a shaking, crying mess like she had been a few weeks ago in that hotel room. Thank God, this seemingly hadn't effected her that badly.

"Thanks. Give me the room," Seth told the WWE employee.

The guy nodded and left the room while Seth went over to his girlfriend. "Zelina, are you okay?" he asked, knowing full well that it was a dumb question.

"I'm sorry for running, Seth," she muttered, a downcast expression on her face that he had sadly seen before.

The fact that she was apologising was beyond Seth. "You have absolutely nothing to apologise for," he told her. "Can I sit with you and hold you?"

She looked up now, meeting his eyes. "You don't have to ask me that. I know why you did it, but you don't have to. You're my boyfriend. I know you're not him. Hold me. Please," she added quickly.

Seth sat down beside her and wrapped his arms around her, and she nestled into him, welcoming the embrace. He was happy to have heard what she had just said. He didn't regret being cautious with her; it was better that than to scare her, especially now. But he now realised they were past that. She knew he wasn't ever going to hurt her.

"Part of me wondered if this would happen," she said.

"Really?" Seth asked, taken by surprise.

Zelina wiped at her eyes with the tissue again. "I know what's happened, Seth. He's seen me on TV. That's why he's decided to show up. While I was out of sight, I was out of mind. Now he's realised I'm on TV, I'd bet he's started obsessing. I'm scared."

Taking in a deep breath, Seth couldn't argue with her logic. This piece of shit clearly wasn't wired correctly upstairs, and had no clue how to treat or interact with women. The truth of it was that he hadn't done anything to threaten or attack Zelina out there in the store; he had said been shouting about wanting to talk to her. As if she would ever want to do that! But Seth already knew what he was going to do about it. "What's this guys name, muñeca?" he asked.

"David. David Joaquin Hernandez. I need you to keep him away from me, Seth. Now that you know what he looks like, you don't let him near me, if he shows up again."

"Of course," he promised sincerely. "He's never going to do what he did here again. I already know what we need to do. I have to say, you're being very strong about this. That's great, I'm just a little..."

"Surprised," she finished for him, resting her head on his chest. "I'm not going to let him ruin my life, Seth. I've been in this place a lot because of him since the night he attacked me. It rarely gets me as bad as it did the other week. It was just being tied up and gagged like that on the show that totally freaked me out. Then I had to tell you about what happened, and live through it all again then."

Seth kissed her on the top of her head as he gave himself a moment to take that in. He was going through his own difficult process, learning exactly how his girlfriend's past effected her in different situations. "You're so strong, like I've said before. To come face to face with him, then to be able to sit here and..." He wasn't sure of the word to use.

"I can't let him control me, Seth. I'm not going to quit my job and go into hiding because he's out there. I just need you to promise you'll keep me safe if he ever tries to do that again. This would be much harder if I didn't have you."

Seth's closed his eyes as he teared up. It wasn't the first time he had realised he loved this girl, but it hit him powerfully in that moment. "You do have me, muñeca. And I'm going to get this taken care of. I'm going to get onto Hunter and have him get the office started on a restraining order against David. He'll never get near you again."

Zelina drew in a ragged breath, in what sounded like relief. "Thank you, Seth."

"I will have to tell him your story, though," he warned. "Are you okay with that?"

The arm she had wrapped around him tightened its grip a little. "It needs to be done," she said quietly.

They just sat there for a moment, holding each other. "You'd better get back out there," Zelina said eventually, lifting her head up and wriggling out of his arms.

"What?" he asked, surprised again. He hadn't planned to go on with the signing, assuming she would want him to leave with her right away.

"WWE aren't going to be happy if we both leave. The line is still half-full out there. You go back out and finish, I'll wait in the car."

"You're sure you'll be okay?" he asked with raised eyebrows.

"He's not back here, Seth. Security threw him out. I'll be okay."

Seth had meant mentally okay rather than physically, but he had to accept the point. Also, since she had expressed determination not to let David start effecting her work, he had to back her up. She didn't want to go on with the meet and greet of course, but at the same time she didn't want anyone giving them grief for disappointing fans.

"Seth?" she prompted. "I'm okay, honestly."

"Alright," he conceded. They both got up, and he gave her a peck on the lips. "I'll get through the line asap, we'll get out of here, then I'll call Hunter."

"Okay," Zelina agreed, giving him a kiss in return.

They walked out of the staffroom and Seth told the WWE employee waiting outside to accompany Zelina back to the car. With that done, he went back out to the store and carried on the meet and greet.

Having seen the commotion, and with Zelina's chair now empty, most of the fans understandably asked if she was okay. Although he gave positive answers, part of Seth had to wonder if she was. Was she really strong enough to have come face to face with David and not have it effect her deeply? Or had she done a convincing job of putting a brave face on it?

Seth found himself thinking back to the now infamous Raw episode. Even terrified beyond belief as she had been, Zelina had still somehow managed to carry out her part in the show, including cutting the promo on Sasha Banks. That display of inner strength was something he would never forget. Yes, she had come apart later, but that wasn't the point. As he had told her before, she was so strong. Strong enough, he decided, to have meant what she had said in the staffroom: She would not allow David Hernandez to change or ruin her life for a second time. Seth, of course, was behind that one hundred per-cent.


	17. Chapter 17

After the meet a greet session that had been marred by the unwanted appearance of David Hernandez, Seth had driven himself and Zelina to the arena for that night's live event.

Gladly, during the journey, she had gotten over the worst of the shock of seeing her ex. Seth had again been struck by her awe-inspiring inner strength. He really didn't know how she did it. But he had also played a part in keeping her calm, he knew, just by being there. She felt safe with him. She  _was_  safe with him.

Now that they were at the arena, Seth had gone and found an empty dressing room where he could sit and call Hunter in privacy.

Apparently having heard that something had happened at the meet and greet, the boss had called both Zelina and Seth already, during their drive to the live event. Seth had told her not to answer, saying that he would call Hunter back later. Recounting her awful story was not something he had been willing to do with her sitting next to him. That would definitely have upset her, as would telling the story again herself.

"Hello?" Hunter said when he answered Seth's call after three rings. He sounded a little irritated, presumably about the unanswered calls.

"Hunter, it's Seth."

"Yeah. I tried to call you earlier. What happened back there? I know security had to drag someone out, and Zelina was upset."

"Hunter, I have something very unpleasant to tell you. That's why we didn't answer earlier. I can tell you this more easily than she could, but I didn't want to do it in front of her."

"Okay," Hunter said sounding concerned now instead of annoyed.

"The thing is," Seth began, stalling for time to choose the right words. "The guy who showed up today is an ex-boyfriend of Zelina's. She dated him back when she was nineteen. There was one night they went out partying, and ended up back at his place. She was unnerved by how he was acting towards her, so when he started coming on to her, she said no. That was when he changed, as she described it." Seth paused, finding it tough going to get through the story. He could totally understand why she had been such a mess that night when she had described it all to him.

"He forced himself on her?" Hunter asked, voice hard with anger. As the father of three daughters, that was no surprise at all.

"Worse," Seth found himself saying. "He pinned her down on her front on the bed. She was trying to fight him off, so he tied her hands behind her back. Zelina said she was so scared by that, she froze. She couldn't have fought him off even if he hadn't tied her up. But she did try and yell for help. That was when he took one of her knee high socks and used it to gag her."

"Jesus Christ," Hunter muttered in disgust.

"She said she couldn't cry out; could barely breathe. She had to lie there while he raped her, and she said she was expecting him to kill her when he was done, so that she couldn't tell anyone about it."

"Fucking animal," Hunter growled. Then he seemed to make a realisation. "Shit, we had her tied up and gagged on the show the other week."

"Yeah, it was that night she told me this story," Seth said, feeling himself choking up at the memory. "She was in a real state about it, as you can imagine."

"Why didn't she say something? I'd have changed the scene for her."

"I know you would," Seth assured him. "But she couldn't face talking to you about it, and she also didn't want to be seen as someone who causes problems and is difficult to work with."

"No one would have thought that," Hunter objected.

"I know that. But I'm telling you what she was thinking. Anyway, that's what this piece of shit did to her. He let her go afterwards, and she ran from his house. But she was too scared of him to say anything to anyone, so the cops were never brought in."

"And today he showed up at the meet and greet," Hunter said. "What happened? If he laid a hand on Zelina, I'm getting the police involved right now."

"If he'd laid a hand on her, the cops would already be involved. I'd have beaten him to a pulp." Seth's tone left no room for doubt.

"I'm glad you didn't. That would have been... problematic," Hunter decided to go with. "What did the guy do?"

"He was spouting some shit about wanting to speak to Zelina. She freaked out, understandably, and ran away to the back of the store. I had the security team drag him out, then I went after her. Hunter, I want you to get the office started on a restraining order against him. Zelina's worried he will try something like this again otherwise, and I agree."

Hunter didn't even take a second to make a decision. "Of course. I'll get it taken care of. But in order to get a restraining order, we need to know who this guy is. Give me what you know, and I'll write it down."

Seth nodded, not that the gesture meant anything during a phone call. "I got all the info I could from Zelina, not that there's much of it. His name is David Joaquin Hernandez. He's from Queens, but it's been eight years since he attacked Zelina. She hadn't had any contact from him between that night and today, so she doesn't know where he lives now. I don't know how tracking people down works, but I'd say start in New York."

"We'll do that," Hunter promised. "And, after hearing what he did, we'll check sexual assault and rape convictions. Zelina might not have been the only one he did that kind of thing to."

"I thought the same," Seth said, clenching his fists. Just five minutes in a locked room with the guy, he thought.

"Do we know how old he is?" Hunter asked next.

Damn, Seth thought. He hadn't asked Zelina that. He wasn't sure if she even knew or remembered David's age. She had given an indication, though, he recalled. "Not sure, but she did say he was a few years older than her. He looked early thirties to me."

"I'll start the office working based on that information. We'll track the guy down, Seth. We'll get it taken care of."

Seth sighed, feeling relieved as well as grateful. "Thanks, Hunter."

"No need to thank me. We take care of our people. But, Seth?"

"What?"

"Why did Zelina tell you about what happened, if it upset her too much to come to me?"

Damn, Seth thought. Hunter wasn't slow on the uptake. He obviously suspected there was something going on between him and Zelina that was more than business. Seth certainly wasn't going to confirm that, for the reasons he had discussed with her before. Lying wasn't something he did often, but now was one of those times when it was necessary. "We travel together. I could tell she was upset in the car, so I asked what was wrong. She broke down, and it all came out."

"Poor girl," Hunter said sympathetically. Seth could tell he had believed the story. "Give her my best, okay?"

"Will do. Thanks again, Hunter."

Seth thought the call was over and was about to end it, but Hunter spoke again, just in time. "Oh, I did have something to tell you. It hardly feels like the right time now, but I'll say it anyway. You guys are going to get the Vega Cartel bus to travel in once the team debuts. We've even hired a driver for you, who you'll pay for along with the running costs and any damage done to the bus. We'll talk about it in more detail closer to the time."

"Thanks a lot, Hunter. For that, and more importantly the stuff with David." Seth figured it was forgivable that he wasn't feeling overly-excited about the bus at the moment. After all, Hunter had said himself that it didn't really feel like the ideal time to mention it.

With that, Seth ended the call. Ignoring the bus part for now, he considered that it had gone well. Hunter hadn't seemed to envision much of a problem for his people in tracking down David Hernandez, or in getting a restraining order to prevent him from ever coming to a WWE event again.

As he had good news, Seth decided to go and find Zelina. The women's locker room was the obvious place where she would be, unless she had already gone to get her makeup done. When he approached the locker room, Bayley was just on her way out.

"Hey, Seth," she greeted him in her usual excitable manner.

"Hi, Bay." The two friends shared a hug.

"Is Zelina in there?" he asked.

"Yeah. Want me to get her for you?"

"Would you?" Seth asked appreciatively.

"Sure." Bayley went back and disappeared into the room for a moment. When the door opened again, Zelina followed her out into the hallway.

"We should have a coffee and a catch up," Bayley suggested to him.

"Definitely," he agreed. "Give me half an hour or so?"

"Okay. Come find me?"

"Will do."

As Bayley walked away, Zelina took a step closer to Seth so that she could speak quietly to him. "How did it go?"

"Let's get out of the hallway," Seth said, noticing Sonya Deville and Mandy Rose turn the corner at the end of the hallway, coming towards the locker room. He ushered Zelina in the opposite direction, finding an empty corner for them to stand in for a little more privacy.

"Did he agree to help?" Zelina asked, quietly but urgently.

"Yeah, he did," Seth was happy to inform her, also keeping his voice down. "I gave him everything you told me about David, and he said they would track him down and get a restraining order to stop him showing up at any WWE events."

"But you had to tell him my story," she said, looking down at the floor. It hadn't been a question.

"Yes, sweetheart, I did. It was hard, but I did it. You know he won't tell anyone."

"I know," she said, still looking down. "I just know I'll feel embarrassed next time I see him."

Not for the first time, Seth felt genuine pain hearing her talk about what David had done to her. "You were attacked, Zelina. You have nothing to be embarrassed about."

Zelina took a ragged breath and wiped a tear from her cheek. "I just didn't need all this back in my life. I was on cloud nine until that damn Raw episode. Then I was just getting over it again, and David shows up. I mean, I'm with you; we're great together; I'm getting pushed like crazy by Vince; I should be the happiest girl in the world. But all I've got on my mind is him."

"That's totally understandable," Seth said compassionately. "You got one hell of a nasty shock today, seeing that scumbag. But remember what we said: He's not going to get near you again."

"And I'm not going to let him ruin my life or sabotage my career," she added. "I know, Seth. I'll be okay. I just need some time to get him out of my head."

Seth wished he could hug her, but they were standing in sight of people walking past. Secrecy was such a pain in the ass. "Of course, muñeca," he said supportively. "And I'm right here with you."

Looking into his eyes, Zelina managed a smile. "I know, baby. It means the world to me."

Checking that the coast was clear for the moment, Seth gave her a quick kiss on the forehead. The little contented sound she made in response warmed his heart. Early in the relationship or not, he felt like the words she had just used were the ones that applied. She meant the world to him.

"Can we talk about something else?" she asked, trying to perk herself up.

The first thing that popped into Seth's mind was the tour bus. Now that his mind wasn't occupied so much with David fucking Hernandez, he found himself thinking that Hunter really had worked out a pretty sweet deal for the members of the upcoming team.

"What?" Zelina asked, reacting to the smile that had appeared on his face with one of her own.

"Hunter ended our conversation with some good news. He was reluctant to mention it, considering what we'd been talking about, but he told me he's fixed it for us to travel in the Vega Cartel tour bus starting as soon as the team is official."

"Oh, awesome!" Zelina exclaimed, seeming much more like her usual self.

"Yeah," Seth agreed. "They've hired a driver for us, which we're responsible for paying for, along with all running costs and any damages. But that's all fair enough."

"Absolutely. I really can't wait to see it and have a look around it."

"I know, right?" Seth said with real excitement. "Some of those things are amazing inside. It depends what they spent on it. Maybe not all that much, if they intended it just to be a prop.".

"Aww," she groaned. "Don't say that, Seth. I'm picturing traveling in absolute luxury. Hey, I wonder who they hired to be our driver?"

"No idea, but it had better not be anyone boring," Seth chuckled.

Zelina didn't say anything for a second, but Seth was delighted by the fact that she looked genuinely happy for the first time since David had shown up at the toy store. "You know, I can't wait for that Smackdown episode. I feel like that's where things really get started for us."

Seth nodded thoughtfully in an exaggerated manner. "You might be right about that. There's just one thing you're ignoring."

Raising an eyebrow a little, Zelina asked, "What's that?"

"Your first Wrestlemania."


	18. Chapter 18

Hours before the fans would be admitted to New Orleans' Superdome, Zelina had asked Seth to go out and have a look at the stadium with her.

As they walked out through the curtain into the stadium, Zelina felt like her breath had been taken away from her. She had been to Wrestlemania as a paying customer several times, but it was a whole different story when you were on the stage, where later in the day the eyes of seventy five thousand people would be on you.

"Impressive, huh?" Seth asked, standing beside her.

"Incredible," she agreed. She wanted to put an arm around his waist, but as ever, secrecy about their relationship had to prevail, unfortunately.

"Who knows, you might be preparing for a match of your own this time next year," he said, looking down at her with a smile.

Zelina couldn't argue. Anything was possible in WWE. At this time on the previous year's Wrestlemania Sunday, she had been in an bar in Orlando, having a few drinks with friends before heading to the Citrus Bowl. "Maybe," she agreed with a broad smile.

They walked over to the top of the entrance ramp so that they could turn around and look at the stage, with its enormous Wrestlemania logo.

"This would be a great place to celebrate a title win," Seth said.

Thinking back, Zelina remembered that he had done so once before, at Wrestlemania 31. What an emotional moment that must have been for him. She got goosebumps just thinking about that kind of thing happening again, with her standing by his side.

Standing in comfortable silence, they spent a few moments taking it all in. With only two matches following theirs on the show, they were classed as one of the main events, although everyone knew there was really only one main event on a card. This year it had gone to Styles and Nakamura. Rightfully so, Zelina had to admit.

While they were standing there, Hunter came out onto the stage with a few crew members. Upon seeing Seth and Zelina, he excused himself and walked over to join them. "All set for the show?" he asked as an opener.

"Yep," Seth replied pleasantly, while Zelina nodded her confirmation.

Hunter looked at her and said, "A bit of good news for you. The temporary restraining order we got against David Hernandez last week was formally upgraded to a permanent one Friday afternoon, and served to him at his place of work yesterday. He now has a lifetime ban from all WWE events and appearances."

It felt like a weight had been lifted from Zelina's shoulders. David wouldn't be repeating his stunt from the previous week again. Or, if he did, he would be looking at a year in jail. She knew that because she had looked it up.

"That's good news," Seth had said while she took in the news.

"Yes," she agreed. "Thank you for sorting it out, Hunter. And so quickly, too. I thought it might take longer to be honest."

"No, it wasn't difficult with someone with his record."

Zelina could tell Hunter regretted saying that as soon as the words had left his mouth. It was there in a flicker of a look in his eyes that said, 'Oh, damn.'

"What record?" she asked.

"Forget I said that," Hunter told her, trying to blow it off.

"What record?" she demanded again, louder and more forceful this time.

"Zelina," Seth said, cautioning her about her tone to the boss.

"No. I want to know what you found on him, Hunter. I think I have a right to know."

Seth raised his eyebrows, indicating to Hunter that he thought that was a fair point.

"Okay, you're right," the boss relented. "I didn't want to cause you more upset, but I guess it's my fault with my big mouth just now. Our guys found it quite easy to track David down because he did six years for violently raping someone."

"Oh my God," Zelina gasped, covering her face with her hands. "He did it to someone else. It wasn't just me."

"Uhm, no, it wasn't," Hunter confirmed.

"What did he do to her?" Zelina asked, eyes full of tears.

"Zelina, come on," Seth said gently, trying to stop her heading down that path.

"What did he do?" she demanded angrily after removing her hands from her face.

Looking distinctly uncomfortable, Hunter told her what he knew. "Pretty much the same thing he did to you. After his girlfriend told him no one night, he tied her to a bed, gagged her and raped her. When he let her go, she went straight home and told her parents, and they got the police involved. They recovered DNA evidence, and she also had marks on her wrists from being bound. It was enough to stick in court, and he got six years, which he finished serving late last year."

Zelina felt horrified. Someone else had been put through the same ordeal as her. Actually, worse, by the sound of it. She hadn't been tied up long enough or tightly enough to leave marks on her wrists. The poor girl would have been scared to death; probably expecting death, as Zelina had. "I could have stopped it," she gasped, feeling light-headed.

"Now don't say that," Seth said gently, putting an arm around her to try and comfort her. In the moment, neither of them thought about the fact that it was happening right in front of the boss.

"But it's true," she said, allowing him to hold her. "If I had been brave enough to go to the cops myself, he would never have been able to attack that girl."

Hunter spoke next. "Zelina, I'm very sorry. I didn't intend for this to come out, or to upset you. Why don't you guys go in the back?"

"Don't apologise, it's not your fault," Zelina said as Seth began to lead her away.

"Let me know if there's anything else I can do," Hunter called after them.

"You really shouldn't blame yourself," Seth told her. "You were nineteen, you had been attacked, and you were terrified of the man who did it to you."

"I was," she said, feeling herself tremor at the memory. "I thought if I went to the police, he would show up and kill me. I used to have night terrors about it. For months, any little noise in the night and I'd be wide away, too afraid to try and get back to sleep."

Seth held the curtain open for her to walk through. As she did so, she looked up at him and saw him close his eyes for a second. She could tell he was thinking about what he would like to do to David for making her feel that way.

"Six years," he said in disgust. "He should have got life. Thank God they approved the restraining order."

"Maybe he got help in prison?" Zelina wondered aloud. "They have programs to help people during their sentences. Maybe he came to find me to apologise for what he did, mistakenly thinking I'd want to hear it?"

"I really don't think that's what it was about, muñeca," Seth said tenderly. "He shouldn't have been there; he shouldn't have been trying to contact you, and he's not going to get the chance again."

"Good, because I don't want his apology. I want to never see him again," she said after they had walked through Gorilla.

"At least now we know you're not going to," Seth said, putting a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

The words and the gesture meant so much to Zelina. She was able to draw strength from her man. Different things relating to David kept coming up and upsetting her, but she had to tell herself that it was all over now. She couldn't let thinking about him ruin the biggest night of her career, that was for sure.

* * *

_Wrestlemania 34_

Due to time restrictions on the card, the Raw triple threat match had had its time cut down to a ten minute match.

For that reason, the three men involved had realised that if it was going to be memorable in any way, they would have to make it fast-paced and hard-hitting right from the start.

One advantage of that kind of match was that the finish could happen at any time, and for that reason, the fans were right into it. They cheered as Braun Strowman ragdolled Seth into the ringside barricade.

The cheers quickly changed to shouts of warning. Zelina had climbed up on the ring apron.

"Wait! What's Vega doing?" Cole demanded.

Strowman turned around, and Zelina leapt at him, wrapping her legs around his neck. Her intention was to hurracanrana him into the ring steps, but it didn't work out for her. Strowman was too strong, and simply held on to her, leaving her hanging in the air.

"Vega got caught!" Booker exclaimed.

Luckily for her, Strowman ignored the fans, who sounded like they wanted him to take her out for good. Instead, he just lifted her up and dumped her through the ropes into the ring.

The distraction still served a purpose, for Seth was back on his feet. He rushed Strowman from behind and slammed him head first into the steel ring post.

"Oh! That could have knocked the champion out cold," Graves said as Braun collapsed to the floor. "This could be Rollins' moment!"

It looked like he might be right. Finn Balor had been down in the ring after taking Seth's suplex and Falcon Arrow combination a few moments earlier. Seeing him trying to get up, Zelina sized up the opportunity that was in front of her.

"Get her out of the ring!" Booker said heatedly.

Zelina ran at Balor and connected with her spike hurracanrana, to the dismay of the fans. The referee was right there, but could do nothing as there was no disqualification under triple threat rules.

"Seth! Seth! Come on!" she screamed at her client, frantically motioning for him to get back in the ring and capitalise on the moment.

Having dealt with Strowman, Seth slid back into the ring, while Zelina vacated it, returning to the outside.

"We've already seen this at Elimination Chamber," Cole recalled. "First Vega getting involved, then Rollins with the Curb Stomp."

Indeed, in a carbon copy of past events, Seth ran at the wounded Irishman and connected with his finishing move. Some of the crowd cheered, believing a new champion was about to be crowned.

"He got it! It's over! New champion!" Graves yelled.

Seth made a cover.

"One!"

"Two!"

The fans erupted as Balor kicked out at the latest possible moment.

"No! It's not over!" Cole countered his colleague. "Balor kicked out at two!"

"How did he do that?" Booker asked incredulously.

Both Seth and Zelina were shown in turn, wondering exactly that. Seth simply couldn't believe it, pounding the canvas with his fist in frustration. Meanwhile, Zelina stood with her hands on her head, wide eyed, looking totally aghast that her interference and the Curb Stomp still hadn't gotten the job done.

With the fans chanting 'Yes' in response to the kick out, Seth got back to his feet and methodically lined up Balor for a second Curb Stomp.

Before he could run and deliver the move, Strowman, who had just regained his feet on the outside, reached under the bottom rope and yanked both of Seth's ankles out from under him, sending him falling face first to the mat.

Strowman got into the ring. Towering over Rollins, he gave his trademark pose with both fists raised.

"Braun!" the crowd shouted along with him.

"Strowman signalling that he's going to end it," Cole said.

Braun picked Seth up and got him up on his shoulders, but Seth was able to wriggle free and drop down behind the back of the huge monster.

As Strowman turned around, Seth delivered a perfect superkick, catching him right on the jaw.

"Strowman drops to his knees," Cole called.

Wasting no time, Rollins ran and hit the ropes. Jumping high into the air, he was about to crash down on Strowman with a Curb Stomp. However, when his foot met Braun's neck, the huge man just leapt upwards, sending Seth flying back up into the air.

The fans erupted when Strowman caught Rollins out of the air on his shoulders and hit a Running Powerslam. It was a definite highlight reel moment.

After taking the huge move, Seth ended up lying next to the ropes where Zelina was standing on the outside. She grabbed his arm and pulled him out of the ring to the floor.

"Great awareness by Zelina Vega," Graves said. "Strowman can't pin Rollins if he's not in the ring."

While this had been going on, Finn had been recovering. He now got to his feet on the opposite side of the ring.

With Rollins out of the equation, Strowman turned to focus his attention on Balor. He was already too late; Finn was flying through the air towards him.

"Slingblade!" Cole called out as the move connected, taking the champion down.

With the crowd roaring him on, Finn got up and stood in a corner of the ring, psyching himself up to bring an end to the match.

"This is Balor's moment!" Booker cried out. "Rollins is down on the outside, with Vega tending to him. Strowman is down. It might be now or never!"

As Strowman struggled to get up, Balor charged at him again. But before the Irishman could launch into his dropkick, Braun rushed forward and scooped him up on his shoulders, to another loud cheer. So long as Rollins didn't win, the fans were seemingly happy.

"Strowman has Balor on his shoulders!" Cole called. "Running Powerslam!"

"No! Wait!" Graves protested as the referee began his count.

"One!"

"Two!"

"Three!"

"Strowman wins!" Cole yelled as the bell rang.

Zelina was shown screaming, "No!" in the utmost anger outside the ring, looking like she might be about to tear her hair out.

"Braun Strowman is still the Universal Champion," Booker reported.

"But look at Zelina Vega," Graves said. "She's beside herself. Seth Rollins didn't lose, yet the match is over."

"What do you mean, Seth Rollins didn't lose?" Cole asked while Braun celebrated. "Of course he lost. That's how a triple threat match works, Corey."

"It never should have been a triple threat match! Rollins won the right to face Strowman one on one, and Kurt Angle added Balor to the match."

Zelina was shown kneeling beside the still apparently unconscious Seth, pounding the floor covering in frustration and screaming like a naughty child who hadn't got her own way.

"Look at Zelina," Graves went on. "She's livid. She's been talking about the anti-Rollins conspiracy on Raw, and here we see the results of it. With a draft coming up in just two days, I wouldn't be surprised if we never see Vega or Rollins on Raw again."

Cole steered the commentary back to the celebrations of Braun's win until the segment came to an end.


	19. Chapter 19

"Okay, any questions on any of that?" Hunter asked.

Seth looked first at Zelina, then at the rest of his soon-to-be teammates in turn. They were standing in Hunter's office, and he had just talked them through the creative for how The Vega Cartel would be formed. The process would start on that night's show with all of the male members uniting under Zelina's leadership, then Bayley would join next week to complete the group.

Nobody had any questions, so Hunter moved on. "As you all know, I was able to work it out for you to have the Vega Cartel tour bus available to you."

"Thank you again for that," Zelina said. The rest of the group followed her in expressing their gratitude.

"You're welcome. But again, I want to stress that between you, you are responsible for all running costs, including the driver's salary, and any damage caused. How we actually charge you for that is something we need to talk about."

"Charge it to me," Seth said without much of a pause. "I can collect shares from everyone else."

"You sure?" Bobby Roode asked.

"Yeah. It's not like someone's going to refuse to pay their share, is it?"

"No, of course not," Bobby agreed.

"Because if that kind of thing starts happening, you'll lose the bus," Hunter said. "I only pushed this with Vince for you because I know everyone in this room is responsible and can be trusted."

"There won't be any problems," Joe assured him.

"Okay then, what do you say we go check out the bus?" Hunter asked, breaking into a smile as he spoke.

"Yes!" Bayley squealed before anyone else got the chance.

"Follow me," Hunter said on his way to the door. "Your driver is here tonight, too, so you can start using it after the show."

Seth said, "We'll have to go pick our stuff up from the hotel if we're going to start sleeping in there tonight."

"It's not that that bothers me," Bayley said. "It's how much snoring there's going to be."

"That's why earplugs are a thing," Bobby said with a grin.

Walking at the back of the group with Zelina, Seth slowed his pace slightly to put a bit more distance between them and the rest of the guys. "You know, we're going to have to tell them about us," he said quietly.

"I was thinking the same thing," Zelina said, not exactly sounding thrilled with the prospect. They had been over the reasons for keeping their relationship a secret multiple times, but there was little chance they could continue to do so once they were sharing a tour bus with three colleagues and a driver. Their cover would quickly been seen through, so it was probably better to be open about it from the start and take their new travel buddies into confidence. "They're going to have to be quiet about it," she said cautiously.

"We'll make that clear to them. But hey, I was looking up plans of tour busses the other day. If ours is like most of those, there's a double bed near the back, separate from the bunks everyone else has."

Zelina gave him on of her dazzling smiles. "And that's where we're going to be."

"It sure is. No bunk beds for us."

The look on her face changed, becoming mischievous. "You know, I loved the way you took charge back there," she said, biting her bottom lip suggestively. "I think we should christen the bed tonight."

If she loved him taking charge, Seth most definitely loved her talking like that. He felt his body start getting fired up as he thought about the prospect of having sex with her with the guys sleeping only a matter of feet away. It would be a new experience, that was for sure. "No complaints here," he told her.

Up ahead, the rest of the group had walked out into the parking garage. "Woah, look at it!" Bayley exclaimed. "Hunter, that picture you showed us didn't do it justice."

Seth and Zelina hurried to join the rest of them in getting the first sight of what was going to be their mobile home. Walking into the garage, Seth liked what he saw a lot. The bus was parked just to the right of the entrance to arena. Its metallic black paint gleamed under the garage's lights, and helped the stylish gold italic lettering of the word Vega on the side near the passenger door to stand out. Seth took in the tinted windows that would allow people see out from inside, but not in from outside. As with most buses, there were doors in the space between the wheels which would open to reveal ample storage space for luggage.

"Very nice," Bobby said appreciatively.

"It's breath-taking," Zelina said. With a nervous giggle, she added, "And it has my name on it."

"Let's go check out the inside," Seth suggested.

Before anyone could approach the open door to do that, a woman climbed down the steps, out into the garage. She had long dark hair, and was very attractive. Seth found himself thinking that there was quite a resemblance between her and Sonya Deville as he took in her blue polo shirt and tight white pants that showed off her shapely legs. She had a pair of aviator sunglasses placed above her forehead. Thirty at most, he thought, trying to guess her age.

"I don't think you should be in there, sweetheart," Joe said to her.

The woman raised an eyebrow slightly as Hunter laughed. He then said, "Allow me to introduce you to your driver, Elena D'Agostino."

"Nice to meet you, sweetheart," Elena said to Joe, who was standing closest to her.

"Uh, sorry about that," he stumbled as he offered his hand. "Joe."

"Forget it, Joe," she said as they shook. "I guess I'm not the fat, grey haired, sixty year old guy you were probably expecting your driver to be, no?"

Seth had noticed the thick Italian accent in Elena's voice, and he liked it. The accent, in addition to the strange way she posed the question to Joe made her sound like something out of a bad action movie. He thought he would one day have to ask her to say, "No, Mr Bond. I expect you to die."

"I'll leave you guys to it. Elena will show you around the bus," Hunter said, making his exit.

Seth waited his turn to be introduced to their driver, who spoke to Bobby and then to Bayley.

"Very nice to meet you, Bayley," Elena said to her after they shook hands. "You can help me keep these guys in line, yes?"

Seth glanced at Zelina and they exchanged small smiles. There was a lot to like about this woman's confidence. Seeing as they were going to be spending a lot of time on the road with their driver, it would be a good thing if they got along with her.

"So you must be Zelina Vega," Elena said, offering her hand once more. "You're the boss lady."

"Only on TV," Zelina said sheepishly, unsure of the Italian was joking, or didn't understand what the deal was with kayfabe in the wrestling business.

Elena moved on to Seth without further comment.

"Seth," he announced, offering his hand.

"Good to meet you," Elena said, shaking it briefly. With the introductions complete, she walked back over to the bus and stood in front of the door. "Before I show you around, I have a couple of things to say."

Seth found himself grinning again. This girl certainly wasn't intimidated in the least by being around her new passengers and employers.

"First, as you all know now, my name is Elena. But only my mother calls me that. You can call me Daga. Second, after a couple of bad experiences I've had in the past with people who seemed to have the wrong idea about having a female bus driver, let me be clear that that's exactly what I am. I'm your driver. I'm not your cleaner, and I'm not your slave. You make a mess on the bus, don't expect me to take care of it for you. And don't speak to me like crap. If any of that's going to be a problem, let me know now and we can go our separate ways."

Seth almost laughed at how forthright she was, not that she was wrong in anything she had said. He looked around at the group, and as expected, saw similar reactions from them.

"No problems with that," Joe confirmed for them.

Elena smiled broadly. "Magnifico. We'll get along just fine. Follow me, and I'll show you around the bus."

Joe gestured for Bayley to enter the bus before him, and Seth stood back to allow Zelina to go second. He followed his girlfriend up the steps, immediately being struck by what he had always called 'the new car smell'. It was very pleasant.

The first thing he saw was Elena's leather driving seat, which looked comfortable enough itself, before they even got into the areas for passengers. He also saw that there was a large TV screen that could be pulled down in front of the windshield. That would be perfect for Daga when she was sitting for hours waiting for them while they were working shows.

"This is obviously the main sitting area," Elena said after they were all on the bus.

Seth looked around at the two leather couches, each seating two people, and two chairs. Enough seating for six people. Perfect.

"You have a flat screen TV there," Elena said, pointing unnecessarily to one wall. "You can get pretty much any channel you want on it."

"Even porn?" Bobby asked.

Seth chuckled, glad that everyone else seemed to have sensed the same thing: Elena would be up for a laugh if they included her in the group.

"Especially porn," Elena grinned, drawing some laughter from the group. She then stepped aside to reveal a small galley area with a sink, microwave and a small refrigerator. "Here's the galley," she said. "Oh, there's Wi-Fi on-board as well."

"Nice," Joe nodded his approval of the galley area. "Somewhere to make food, and somewhere to relax in front of a TV. What better way could there be to travel?"

"Maybe asleep?" Elena suggested, walking a bit further back into the bus.

Following her, Seth saw two bunk beds, one on either side of the central walkway. That was enough to sleep four people, so he had to assume he was correct in his guess about their being a double bed at the rear of the bus. There were closets either side of the beds for clothes to be stored.

"Here we have four bunk beds, and there's a double back there," Elena said almost as soon as he had thought it.

"They look really comfortable," Bayley said.

"Are you sure you're okay sleeping in a bunk with a guy above or below you?" Bobby asked.

Bayley shrugged. "Doesn't bother me. Besides, Daga can take the other bunk on my side."

"Here's the bathroom," Elena said, having moved on.

"This is incredible," Zelina said in awe as she looked in through the bathroom door. Standing so much taller than her, Seth was able to look over the top of her at the same time. He saw a sink, toilet and a shower in there, behind a glass screen.

"The water pressure is really good in the shower," Elena reported as Seth and Zelina move aside to make room for the others to take a look. Elena then held open a curtain, behind which Seth saw a luxurious double bed, which had its own closets on either side. There was even another flat screen TV on the wall at the bottom end of the bed. "Lastly, there's a double bed."

"Look at this," Seth said to Zelina in delight. Most hotel rooms struggled to provide a bed as nice as this one looked.

"Who says you're having the double, Rollins?" Joe asked, humour in his voice.

"Why, who are you planning to share it with?" Seth countered.

"Uh, Bobby," Joe said, unable not to laugh.

Seth laughed too. "Well, you learn something every day." As he spoke, he saw Zelina looking at him. Her expression asked if this was the right time to tell the group about their relationship. Since doing so was inevitable, Seth decided to go for it. "Actually, Zelina and I would be the logical choice to have it."

"Huh?" Bobby asked, not catching on.

"Are you saying you guys are dating?" Bayley asked excitedly from the sitting area at the front of the bus.

"Yes, we are," Zelina said, bravely, in Seth's opinion.

"We have been for a couple of weeks," Seth said, deliberately shortening the time frame of their relationship to soften any potential judgement that might be about to come their way.

"Aww, that's so sweet," Bayley gushed, surprising no one with her reaction. "I'm really happy for you guys."

"Yeah, me too," Joe said warmly. "I guess that does settle the double bed question."

"It's actually a good job we do have a couple here. I wouldn't have been keen to share with a big dude like you," Bobby said to Joe, teasing him.

"Aww, I'd have jumped in with him," Bayley giggled.

While the banter continued, Seth looked at Zelina and saw her smile at him. After all of their fears about telling people they were together, the fact had been accepted with barely a comment. Even so, there was still the matter of secrecy from the rest of the locker room to consider. Having the guys on the bus knowing was one thing; having it going around the whole roster was quite another. "Guys," Seth said, getting their attention back. "We told you because we felt it was inevitable you'd find out."

"And we wanted the double bed," Zelina added with a big smile.

Seth laughed. "And we wanted the double bed. But seriously, I need to ask you to keep this to yourselves, please. You know how some people can be around here, and with Zelina only recently being called up, we can imagine people twisting that to say negative things either about me or her. We don't want to go down that road."

"Understood," Joe said seriously.

"I won't say anything," Bayley promised.

"The secret's safe with me," Bobby assured them. "Although you might have to buy our silence by stocking that fridge up front with beer," he added with a sideways grin.

"Deal," Zelina said. "Daga, we need to get supplies from somewhere tomorrow."

Elena had been standing out of the way and keeping quiet while the unexpected talk of relationships had been going on. "No problem," she nodded. "I have a Costco membership, so I'll find one of their warehouses for us to stop at."

"A woman who comes prepared, I like that," Bobby said, making a first exploratory attempt to flirt with her.

Her response was a coy expression. "Save your breath, Bobby, you're not my type."

"Come on, what's wrong with me?" he objected in a good-natured manner.

"You're a guy, for a start."

Seth joined in with the laughter as everyone understood her meaning and appreciated her openness about her sexuality. At least now everyone knew where they stood. "Right, we'd better get back to the locker room," he suggested.

"Good idea," Zelina agreed. "I still need to get my makeup done, too."

"You don't need makeup, babe," Seth said, deliberately being as corny as possible.

"Oh, fucking hell," Joe groaned, while Bobby pretended to throw up in the sink and Bayley and Elena laughed.

"Any more of that, I think you'll get us kicked off the bus," Zelina said. She reached up and gave him a peck on the lips. "But as long as I was with you, I'd be happy." Her comment was as purposefully cringe-worthy as his had been.

"Ugh, stop it," Joe groaned, hurrying towards the front of the bus to make an escape.

Laughing, the rest of the new team followed him, leaving Elena behind. Seth figured things couldn't have gone any better. He and Zelina had shared the news about their relationship, without any negativity coming back at them, they had a luxurious place to spend their many days on the road, they had a driver who seemed like she would be easy to get along with, and possibly most importantly, the new team were already starting to gel with each other. Now The Vega Cartel just needed to be formed on-screen. That was only a matter of hours away from happening.


	20. Chapter 20

_Tuesday Night Smackdown - April 10th 2018_

With brand new theme music playing in the arena, the first episode of Smackdown's new era began with a shot of the ring, with a newly-designed stage in the background. It was quite similar to Raw's, but different enough for it to be noticeable. The boisterous post-Wrestlemania crowd cheered loudly as the show went live.

Ring announcer Greg Hamilton began with an announcement. "Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the new commissioner of Tuesday Night Smackdown, Stephanie McMahon!"

Rather than welcome Stephanie, the fans chose to loudly boo her as her music began to play and she walked triumphantly out into her new Queendom. She posed on the stage with her arms spread wide and a big smile on her face.

There was no one at the commentary table yet, so the audience were left to listen to the music and the negative crowd reaction as the new boss made her way to the ring. More boos greeted her when she entered the ring.

Stephanie walked over and took a microphone from the ring announcer, then returned to the middle of the ring as her music faded out. "Welcome to the first ever, three hour long, Tuesday Night Smackdown!" she said enthusiastically. That did at least draw some cheers.

"As the new Smackdown commissioner, let me tell you we're in for quite a night," she went on after a momentary pause. "To start, I need to introduce our commentary team. First, now exclusively on Smackdown, please welcome Corey Graves!"

The fans cheered as Graves' music played and he walked quickly out onto the stage and down the ramp, acknowledging them with a brief wave. When he got to the bottom of the ramp, Stephanie proceeded to her next introduction.

"Second, please welcome, returning to WWE, Jonathan Coachman!"

A louder cheer greeted the return of The Coach as his music hit. He walked out onto the stage and acknowledged the fantastic reception before making his way down the entrance ramp.

"And last but not least," Stephanie went on, "Allow me to introduce Tuesday Night Smackdown's new play-by-play commentator, Renee Young!"

Another loud cheer came from the fans at the ground-breaking announcement. A woman had just achieved another first in WWE. Keeping things professional, Renee walked down to the ring with a happy smile on her face, but she didn't try and make a huge deal of herself.

While the commentary team set about settling in at their table, Stephanie moved on to the next topic on her agenda. "Now, as I'm sure you all know by now, tonight is not only the first ever three hour episode of Tuesday Night Smackdown. It is also the 2018 WWE Draft. To celebrate Smackdown's new era, I was given the honour of the first pick. So, who wants to find out who I chose?"

The fans cheered, just as the commentary team went live. "The first pick of the draft. Let's see who's coming to Smackdown," Renee said.

While Smackdown's theme music played again, the show's logo appeared on the big screen, with the faces of all the Raw superstars eligible to be drafted scrolling quickly past at a fast pace, repeating over and over again. The scrolling began to slow down, with the idea clearly being that it would stop on the picture of the new signing.

"Smackdown's first pick is…" Coachman said, hyping it up.

The pictures stopped scrolling, leaving one of Seth and Zelina on the screen. The fans erupted into boos.

"Seth Rollins and Zelina Vega!" Renee announced with enthusiasm.

"This is huge!" Graves said. "Stephanie McMahon has stolen a former WWE Champion, and the best manager in the business from Raw!"

Seth's music began to play, to more boos. He walked out onto the stage with Zelina by his side. They were both smartly dressed for the occasion: Seth in a black suit and shirt, and Zelina in a dark blue dress. The camera zoomed in on her face as they began to walk down the ramp at a deliberate pace. She was looking slowly around at the crowd as if the arena, or maybe the show, was some kind of shit hole that she would rather have not come within fifty miles of.

"Look at Vega's face," Coach said. "I don't know if she's particularly happy to be here, but she obviously accepted an offer from Stephanie McMahon. Renee, I'm sure you're pleased to see her? I know you get along well with Zelina," he finished, attempting to needle her.

"Not really, no," Renee said diplomatically.

"No?" Coach asked, feigning surprise.

As Smackdown's new signings reached the bottom of the entrance ramp, pyro began to explode on the stage, and around the huge video screen. The deafening explosions continued for at least thirty seconds, while Seth and Zelina just stood there, looking around the arena in distaste.

"This is quite the welcome Stephanie is giving Seth and Zelina here," Renee said while the fans booed the over-the-top celebrations.

Zelina lead her client up the ring steps, and he sat on the middle rope to open them for her to enter the ring. As first Zelina then Seth joined her in the ring, Stephanie applauded the arrival of her number one draft pick.

Ignoring Stephanie, Zelina began to walk around the ring, still with the same look on her face as she looked around the arena. She looked like someone had offered her a cup of warm piss to drink. Seth did the same, walking around the ring separately from his manager. Zelina paused for a moment to look at Renee with even more dislike than she had shown so far.

Eventually, they met in the middle of the ring. Zelina took Seth's hand and raised it in the air. They both had looks of pure arrogance on their faces. More pyro began to explode on the stage, around the tron, and now above the ring as well. Thunderous explosions rocked the arena for nearly a full minute, while the two hated stars stood there posing. Fans were shown shouting abuse and booing. For those paying attention with a talent for lip reading, one ill-timed shot captured a man shouting, "Fuck off!"

After what seemed like forever, the pyro display ended. "Thank God. I have a headache," Renee said.

"That was the best thing I've ever seen," Graves said. "And well deserved, for a draft pick as big as this. We've got both Seth Rollins and Zelina Vega on Smackdown. It's incredible. What a start to the new era."

Now that the fanfare was over, Zelina and Seth turned to face Stephanie, who looked delighted to have them there. She shook hands with Seth and then with Zelina. Once that was done, Seth collected a microphone for his manager.

"Seth, Zelina, it's great to have you here on Tuesday Night Smackdown," Stephanie said, really pushing the show's name change.

"I appreciate the sentiment, but I don't know how great you're going to find it," Zelina said smoothly. Looking up at Stephanie, there was nothing friendly about her expression.

"What do you mean?" Stephanie asked, still smiling, but now with some uncertainty.

"What I mean is, you're looking at the woman who is going to take control of Smackdown away from you," Zelina said, as if she was simply stating a fact. The crowd gave an 'ohhh' at the prospect of a confrontation that they certainly hadn't seen coming.

Stephanie laughed. "I don't know if you've had a bit too much of that champagne I sent to your locker room, Zelina? Because I offered Seth a WWE Championship opportunity to bring the two of you here as my number one draft pick. That means you work for me."

Zelina shook her head slightly, looking like she found it sad that someone could be so dumb. "No, Stephanie, that's what you think you did. What you actually did was open your door and let a deadly enemy come walking into your house, just because she had a smile on her face. Listen to the words I'm telling you in plain English: I am going to take control of this show, you're going to be sent packing back to the office where you belong, and it's all going to begin tonight."

The fans booed Zelina for her arrogance more than the threat to Stephanie, who they also were less than fond of.

"Oh, is that a fact?" Stephanie asked, now starting to get aggressive herself, towering over the much smaller woman. "We'll see about that, because tonight Seth Rollins will go one on one with Smackdown's second draft pick, Finn Balor!"

"Finn Balor has signed for Smackdown!" Renee yelled as the fans exploded into raucous cheering.

Graves said, "Give me a break. Balor has been following Rollins around like a bad smell, even costing him the Universal Championship match at Wrestlemania. Now he's over here on Smackdown?"

"You'd better believe it," Coach said.

In the ring, Zelina's warm piss-drinking expression had returned. "That's all you've got, McMahon?" she said icily. "So be it. But I'll tell you this much: you have absolutely no idea what you're dealing with."

With that, Zelina dropped her microphone and marched towards the ropes to exit the ring as Seth's music played. Seth held the ropes open for her, then followed her out of the ring. Those with an eye for detail might have picked up on a subtle change in their interactions, with Seth seeming more deferential to her than a client would be to a manager.

"Tough talk from Zelina Vega," Renee said as the shot changed to show the new commentary team. "I'd imagine Stephanie McMahon showed up tonight thinking that her biggest problem was going to be how to form a working relationship with Daniel Bryan. Now Vega is saying she's going to take over Smackdown. Guys, do you have any idea what she meant by that?"

"I have no clue. What I can say is that Zelina looked deadly serious to me," Coach said.

"Of course she was serious," Graves said. "I don't know what Zelina is planning any more than you do, but what I do know is Stephanie McMahon had better be on her guard."

Renee said, "Maybe we'll find out more when Seth Rollins meets Finn Balor in the main event of the first ever three hour episode of Tuesday Night Smackdown."

* * *

With Finn Balor already in the ring, Seth and Zelina made their entrance for the latest match between the two rivals. Earlier in the night, Stephanie McMahon and Daniel Bryan had been shown having a heated discussion about whether to take the threatening words from Zelina at the top of the show seriously. Daniel had been of the opinion that they definitely should, while Stephanie had insisted that she had her new show under control.

While Seth entered the ring, Zelina walked around it, heading towards the commentators.

"Seth Rollins has a guaranteed WWE title opportunity as part of the deal that brought him to Tuesday nights," Coach was saying. He paused for a second, noticing where Vega was going. "Wait, I think Zelina Vega might be coming over here." Since there was an empty chair and a spare headset next to him, there was a good chance.

"Yes!" Graves said once Zelina was in earshot of the commentary table, sucking up to her as ever. He stood up to welcome their guest. "Stand up, and show some respect," he ordered his colleagues.

Coach got to his feet just as Zelina reached the table. "Zelina, good to see you," he said politely as she put her headset on. He offered his hand.

"Coach, welcome back," Zelina said, accepting his handshake.

"Zelina, welcome," Renee said next, extending her hand.

Zelina scowled at her for a second, treating the prospective handshake as if the idea was offensive. "I have nothing to shake hands with you on, Renee." She offered her hand instead to Graves. "Corey."

"Great to have you with us," he said as they shook. "Please, have a seat."

The camera shot changed to show the ring, where the match had just gotten underway.

Trying not to be put out by the slight against her, Renee got right in there with a question as everyone at the commentary table sat down. "Zelina, can you tell us what you meant earlier tonight when you said you're here to take over Smackdown?"

"It's a simple sentence, Renee," Zelina replied nastily. "I'm going to take over Smackdown. Let me know which particular word you're struggling with and I might be able to help you a bit more."

"But how?" Renee persisted.

The commentary table was shown briefly, with Zelina giving Renee a death glare. "That's for me to know, and you to find out. Instead of sticking that pointy thing on the front of your face in my business, why don't you call the match?"

Put in her place, Renee did exactly that. For the next ten minutes, they called the fast-paced, evenly-matched contest without any further confrontation. That was until Renee made the mistake of saying, "In the past month, we've seen these two men wrestle each other a number of times, and it has to be said, Finn Balor has consistently had the edge over Seth Rollins."

Unsurprisingly, Zelina objected to that. "I don't know how you figure that, Young. Seth beat Balor at Elimination Chamber, beat him again a couple of weeks later on Raw, and almost made it a hattrick at Wrestlemania."

"Not that Balor should have been in the match at Wrestlemania to start with," Graves interjected.

"That's true," Zelina said grumpily. "That was Kurt Angle's terrible management, costing Seth a title match after he won the right to face the champion one on one. And he won that right fair and square, I might add."

Renee gave a grunt of a laugh at that final comment.

Moments later, Finn Balor turned the match in his favour by connecting with a Slingblade. It was the move he often followed with a dropkick, sending his opponent into the corner of the ring. It was no different on this occasion. After hitting the dropkick, Finn climbed to the top rope.

"Coup de Grace incoming!" Renee exclaimed.

Before Finn could launch into the air, someone climbed up onto the ring apron behind him and shoved him into the ring, landing flat on his back after Seth rolled out of the way. "Wait! Who is that?" Coach asked as the referee threw out the match, calling a disqualification.

"That's Bobby Roode!" Graves cried out over a chorus of boos from the crowd. "Bobby Roode shoved Finn Balor off the top rope."

"Why?" Renee asked.

Roode got into the ring and picked Balor up, getting him in position to hit his finisher.

"Glorious DDT!" Graves called as the move was delivered.

"There wasn't anything glorious about it," Renee said, raising her voice over the boos. "Why is Bobby Roode attacking Finn Balor?"

Zelina's lack of comment since Roode's arrival might have been considered noticeable by itself.

"Rollins back on his feet now, stomping away on Balor," Coach said. "This has gone from being a match to a mugging."

The fans suddenly started cheering as someone else was shown running to the ring.

"Here comes Samoa Joe, one of Smackdown's new signings!" Renee yelled. "Is he coming to help Finn Balor?"

The answer was soon revealed. Joe entered under the bottom rope as Seth and Bobby hauled Finn to his feet. Rather than being afraid of the new arrival, they simply shoved Balor towards Joe, who grabbed him into a Coquina Clutch.

"Joe with the Coquina Clutch now on Finn Balor," Renee protested. "This is ridiculous. Zelina, you've suddenly gone quiet. I sense your hand in this."

"You're very perceptive, Renee," Zelina said sarcastically. "Allow me to introduce you to The Vega Cartel." As soon as she had said that, the sound of her removing her headset could be heard.

"The Vega Cartel?" Coach asked. "What on Earth is that?"

"It's the group of people who have just taken Finn Balor apart like a pack of dogs," Graves said as Joe finally relinquished his choke hold, leaving the Irishman an unconscious, destroyed mess in the middle of the ring. "It's the group being led by Zelina Vega, who says she's going to take over Smackdown."

Zelina had walked up the ring steps and climbed through the ropes. She went over to join the members of her new team, nodding her satisfaction at the work that had been done in her name. She took up a position between Seth and Joe, and the whole group raised their arms in a symbol of unity and dominance. The Smackdown logo appeared in the corner of the screen, signalling that she show was about to go off air.

Coach said, "Vega told Stephanie McMahon earlier tonight that she had no idea what she was dealing with. Looking at that sight, I'd have to say she was telling the truth. The Vega Cartel are here on Tuesday Night Smackdown!"

"Do you realise what we're seeing?" Graves asked. "Do you realise what's happened? Tuesday nights have just changed forever! Vega is taking over!"

"God help us all," Renee said quietly just before the show went off air.


	21. Chapter 21

Bobby and Joe cheered sarcastically when Bayley and Zelina walked up the steps onto the Vega Cartel tour bus. The men had been on-board and ready to leave for at least fifteen minutes.

"We nearly went without you," Bobby said.

"You'd better get used to waiting," Bayley said, playing along with the banter. "Us ladies take longer to get ready."

"Don't we know it," Joe said, rolling his eyes.

Elena entered the bus, having secured everyone's luggage in the storage compartment in the side. "Everyone ready to leave?" she asked.

"Yep, ready when you are," Zelina said. She walked over and sat down next to Seth on one of the couches. Bobby and Joe occupied the two chairs, both men already working on a beer, leaving Bayley to settle down on the other couch, which she had to herself.

"Hey, muñeca," Seth said quietly but warmly as he slipped an arm around his girl.

Zelina snuggled up to him. "I've been waiting for this," she purred contentedly.

"Me too," he said, giving her a little kiss on the head. He was so glad that they didn't need to be secretive about their relationship while they were around their teammates.

Elena fired up the bus's engine, then, with a hiss from the airbrakes, they were rolling for the first time. Seth found himself having to watch Daga at work, turning the large steering wheel as she navigated towards the parking garage's entrance ramp. He still found it very odd that an attractive girl like her drove a bus for a living. It was something he would have to ask her about at some point. For now, since Bayley was sitting right behind her and had already engaged her in conversation, it would have to wait.

Bobby and Joe were also chatting away, talking about the sports news that Joe had just tuned in to on the sitting area's flat screen TV.

"I think tonight went really well," Zelina said, resting her head against Seth's chest.

"Yeah," he agreed. "They're putting a lot into this idea, so it was good that the fans got on our backs out there, particularly at the end. Honestly, a lot of the heat feels like it's because of how much they're starting to hate you. You're killing it. I was looking at Twitter while we were waiting for you and Bay, and it was on fire with people talking about the cartel and where the angle with you and Steph is going. The thing between you and Renee is getting a lot of attention, too."

"I saw that," Zelina said with a little chuckle. "No one even asked me to start getting aggro with her; it just seemed to fit when she was giving me bad news about you week after week."

"It's definitely something you should try and keep going. Maybe talk to Vince about it and ask them to start writing little things for it? It's getting attention, so it would be a shame to do nothing with it."

While they had been talking, the bus had been stuck at the exit of the parking garage while Elena waited for an opportunity to pull out into the heavy traffic. "Finally," Seth heard her say to Bayley as the bus began to move again. "You would have thought someone would have let me out, no? I love driving, but it tests you patience sometimes."

"I can't even imagine driving something like this," was Bayley's reply.

"What do you think of Daga?" Seth asked Zelina quietly, so that only she could hear him.

"So far, I like her," she replied at an equal volume. "She's no nonsense, without being rude. I can see why she had trouble with past clients. Like she said, she's not exactly what you picture for a bus driver, and I can see why a bunch of guys might think they could push her around."

"I'm not sure I'd try it," Seth replied, only half joking. With the way they were sitting, he couldn't see if Zelina smiled, but he assumed that she did.

"That's because you're one of the good guys."

How much that comment touched Seth took him by surprise. Maybe it was the way she had said it as much as the words she had chosen, he thought. He got the impression that, even if it had been subconscious, she had been contrasting him to David in that moment, not talking about Elena at all. Zelina knew he would love and respect her as a partner should, and always treat her right. It wasn't the first time he had considered telling her he loved her, but as previously, he held back, thinking it wasn't quite the right moment to speak those words for the first time.

"Seth?" she asked, filling the silence he had left while lost in his thoughts. She was asking him a question, not prompting him.

"What, babe?" he asked.

"Do you think the guys are going to end up resenting me?"

Seth was at a loss as to what she was talking about. "What do you mean? What guys?"

"People in the locker room. The other girls. Maybe some of the guys, even."

He shifted himself so that she had to raise her head from his chest. He had wanted her to look at him, and she did. "Why would they resent you?" he asked.

Zelina shook her head slightly. "Because everything that's falling in my lap is just crazy right now. A year ago, I didn't even work here. Since then, I've signed a contract, been assigned to manage Andrade, who then got the NXT title. Just a few months in, there I am managing the NXT Champion in main event matches, and they have me training as a wrestler in the Performance Center. Then Andrade got injured and I figured it was back to the drawing board for me. Instead, I get a call telling me to show up at Raw, where I find out I'm going to manage Seth Rollins."

Part of Seth was tempted to make a joke about that being where she really got lucky, but this was obviously a serious thing for her.

"Within a month, there I am managing you in a Wrestlemania main event worthy match," she went on. "But even then, they pushed me even harder. Now I'm managing all of these amazing wrestlers, and I'm actually the leader of the group. I'm being driven around in a brand new tour bus, which is like nothing I've ever been on before, and it's got my name on the side."

Zelina took a moment to shake her head again. "What I've been given by this company is insane. There are girls I share the locker room with who have been on the main roster for years who haven't had a run like I'm already having for ages, if at all. Look at Tamina, or Nattie, or even Becky. They're not really going anywhere right now, despite being brilliant talents and really nice people. And here I come, the leader of The Vega Cartel. I just fear they'll come to hate me for it."

Seth wondered how long that had all been on her mind without her saying anything. It clearly wasn't a spur of the moment thing. He decided that being realistic was the best way to reply. "It can happen," he admitted. "I can't pretend people don't act like that, because they do. Maybe not the ones you mentioned by name, necessarily, but yes, some people could get jealous of you."

He saw Zelina look down, saddened by his words. Now having moved past his concerns about whether touching her when she wasn't expecting it might make her uncomfortable because of her past with David, he used two fingers to lift her chin, making her look at him. "But one thing you need to be clear on is that no matter what anyone who gets jealous might tell you, you've earned everything you mentioned just now. You earned the right to manage in main events on the main roster by proving yourself to be arguably the best manager in the business."

Seth saw in her eyes how much that compliment meant to her, but he wasn't done. "And you continued to deliver. Once we started to work together, your promo work was absolute fire. You elevated both of us. That's what a good manager does. And that's the reason we're sitting on a bus with the name Vega on the side, talking about The Vega Cartel. We're doing that because you deserve to be here. You deserve to be a part of this, and don't ever pay attention to anyone who tries to tell you different."

"Fucking right," Bobby said, nodding his approval.

Only then did Seth realise he had forgotten all about keeping his voice down. The entire group had heard what he had said to her. He even saw Bayley wiping a tear from her eye.

"That was so lovely," she said.

Once Seth had finished speaking, Joe had got up and fetched a couple of bottles of beer from the fridge. He removed the tops and brought them over. "We agree with what he said," he told Zelina, offering a bottle to her. "We don't doubt your right to be here. Neither should you."

Zelina scrunched her eyes closed to keep the tears in. "Thank you, guys," she managed to say.

Seeing the rest of the team rally around her like that had Seth on the verge of tearing up himself. It was a moment he would never forget. There was only one way to make it better and more memorable. After taking the other beer from Joe, he leaned down slightly and gave Zelina a kiss on the lips. "I love you, muñeca," he said, looking into her eyes to convey the depth of his feeling.

"I love you, too," she sniffed, a single tear running down her cheek. Tears or not, her eyes held nothing but love for him.

"I can drink to that," Bobby said, raising his bottle.

Zelina awkwardly turned around on the couch, seeing Bobby and Joe downing their beers in one go. She burst out laughing, and suddenly the bus felt like the happiest place in the world to Seth.

Bayley said, "I don't usually drink much, but Joe, pass me a beer. I think I could use one."

"It's a shame drinking and driving is such a bad idea," Elena said, not taking her eyes off the traffic. "All this talk of love and beer, I could use one too."

Everyone laughed. Zelina turned around to face Seth again. She raised her bottle to her lips, looking into his eyes as she drank. He could read perfectly well what she was thinking. There was a brand new double bed waiting for them at the back of the bus.

Seth drank some of his own beer, knowing that he must have been sending the same signals to her.

Raising her bottle again, Zelina downed the rest of her drink in a couple of hits. With that, she stood up and offered her hand to Seth without a word.

Knocking back the rest of his beer, Seth took her hand and got up. They put their empties in the bin under the sink, then she led the way towards the back of the bus, with Bobby and Joe cheering them on.

After Seth closed the curtain between the double bed area and the rest of the bus to give them at least some small amount of privacy, he turned around and found Zelina had already taken her top off and tossed it onto the bed. "What a beautiful sight," he said gruffly.

Zelina didn't reply, she just stepped forward and started kissing him.

"Mmm," Seth said with pleasure at the taste of her. Scooping her up off her feet, he placed her onto the bed.

"Show me you love me, Seth," she said, voice barely above a whisper but thick with desire.

This time Seth was the one not to reply. He straddled her, leaning down to kiss her neck tenderly, having found in their past sexual encounters that it was a weakness of hers.

A groan of delight escaped her as his lips worked their magic, while her hands fumbled with his jeans, trying to get the button and zip undone. She really was eager for him, Seth realised, not that he was going to complain.

"Oh, baby," Zelina gasped when her hand found its way to his rock hard length.

"I'm ready for you," he muttered in between his kisses and nibbles on her neck.

"Do we have protection?" she asked, rubbing his end through his boxers.

"Yes," he replied, glad that he'd had the foresight to take a condom out of his travel case and put it in his jeans pocket. He worked a hand under her pants and underwear, finding her wet to the touch. Zelina gasped as his fingers entered her and he began to stimulate her.

"Fuck, you're amazing," Seth said directly into her ear as he shifted his position to give his hand more freedom of movement.

Before long, Zelina was breathing heavily, clutching the bed cover tightly as she approached her climax. She groaned in pleasure, doing her best to keep it quiet so that everyone else on the bus didn't hear her.

"Come for me, muñeca," he breathed into her ear.

She soon obliged, scrunching her eyes shut and convulsing as ecstasy completely took over her. She gasped several times, but managed to keep the volume just about under control.

"Oh, Seth," she sighed when he removed his hand. "That was amazing, baby."

"It's not over yet," he said in that same gruff tone. He got off the bed and quickly removed his jeans and boxers, then put the condom on. Once he was ready, he looked down at her, lying there waiting for him. "God, you're stunning," he said.

"You're not so bad yourself, mister." She spread her arms wide. "Now get down here."

"Actually no," Seth said. Since she had told him repeatedly she was okay with him being more assertive with her, he decided to do just that. "You get up. I want to take you from behind."

"Oh," Zelina said excitedly. She did as he asked, getting up and standing in front of him.

"Mmmm," Seth sighed, briefly tracing the shape of her figure with his hands before slipping her underwear down for her.

With her hair falling forward over her face, Zelina leant over the bed, taking the cover in her hands again as she prepared for him to enter her.

Placing his hands on her hips, Seth let his end touch her entrance for a second to tease her.

"Come on," she urged.

Being gentle, Seth thrust into her for the first time, then settled into a steady rhythm.

"Harder. Faster," Zelina pleaded with him.

Seth obliged her, grunting slightly with the effort of each thrust. As always, he loved the way she felt tight around him. She always felt so good that it never took him long to reach the point where he had to actively try and hold his orgasm back so that she could come first.

This time proved to be no different. Burying her face in the bed cover to muffle the sound, Zelina panted with pleasure, then moaned uncontrollably as she peaked.

Feeling fairly sure that the guys must have heard her that time, Seth figured there was nothing he could do about it now. All he could do was keep his own grunts as quiet as possible. Somehow, he managed to do so as he unloaded into her.

Breathless, Zelina allowed herself to fall onto the bed as soon as he pulled out.

While Seth had of course enjoyed the sex, and could tell that she had too with the way she was looking up at him through her messy hair, he had to admit that it hadn't been the best experience ever. Having other people sitting only a matter of feet away was hardly conducive to passionate love-making. What a hard life it was, having to fuck his insanely hot girlfrind on a luxury tour bus, he thought with a grin.


	22. Chapter 22

"Here we are, guys," Elena said. She had just turned the bus off the street, onto the entrance ramp leading down to the parking garage at the arena where that night's Smackdown episode was going to take place.

Driving slowly down the ramp, Elena hit the brakes when the bus entered the garage. Someone was sitting in a black SUV, parked right in the way. With the lack of patience common in Italians, especially when driving, she almost immediately leant on the horn.

The bus had a much more powerful horn than a car, and it was almost deafening in the confined area of the garage. "Come on! Move the damned thing!" Elena shouted with an angry hand gesture, to a chorus of laughter from all of her passengers, who were in the sitting area behind her. During their first week on the road together, Elena had started to become the sixth member of the team, rather than just their driver. It was for that reason that she didn't fight harder to reign herself in. The men in particular had started laughing often at the things she would say to or about other road users.

Just as Elena hit the horn once more, filling the garage with the sound, the SUV's driver got out. He was a fat guy with a crew cut, dressed in a black suit. The way he slammed his door shut conveyed that he was not happy with the impatience of the bus driver parked behind him.

Rather than be cowed by the man storming towards the bus, Elena was fired up even more by it, and was out of her seat, slamming her hand on the button to open the door.

"Here we go," Joe said, smiling broadly, using his tone to encourage Elena on.

"I'd buy tickets for this shit," Bobby said, getting up and walking forward to get a better view of the impending confrontation.

"What the fuck's your problem?" the fat guy demanded as he approached. He only seemed to realise he was addressing a woman when Elena stormed down the steps.

"Let's think about it, shall we?" she shouted back at him. She pointed at the SUV. "Maybe it's that piece of shit parked in the middle of the road, stopping anyone from getting in?"

"There's no need to start leaning on the horn like that," the guy replied, less aggressively than before. His heart wasn't in it now that he knew it was a woman he was up against. Politeness was trying to win a battle in his head, Zelina realised as she watched on.

"There's no need to park like a fucking idiot, either," Elena countered furiously, causing more laughter from the men in the bus.

"Look, I'm waiting for Stephanie McMahon. We've got to hurry back to the hotel."

"I don't care if you're waiting on President fucking Trump to go to the White House!" Elena pointed to some nearby empty spaces. "Move it, before I flatten it."

"Alright, Jesus Christ," the guy said, retreating towards his vehicle.

"Thank you, you're most kind," Elena shouted after him sarcastically. She came storming back up the steps onto the bus, saying, "Get out of your fucking car and get in my face will you?" She added something in Italian that was obviously a lot less than complimentary.

"Daga, please never change," Bobby said.

Seth was still chuckling. Looking at him, Zelina shook her head slightly. She could see the funny side, but as a placid person, she had a hard time imagining how someone could fly off the handle that quickly. The fact that she played someone strikingly similar on-screen had escaped her for the moment.

"I could never confront someone like that, Daga," Bayley said in as the SUV began to move out of the way. Zelina thought she heard something close to awe in her voice.

"Then you've never driven in Italy," was all the explanation Elena seemed to feel necessary.

Seth burst out laughing. "No, but I've been on a bus in Italy on one of our tours. Now that I think back, I remember the driver having a shouting match with someone."

Everyone saw the funny side of that, even Elena, whose anger had quickly subsided now that she was able to move the bus forward. She drove around to where the spaces for buses and trucks were, and swung around to reverse in.

Through the windshield, they could see across to the entrance to the building. Zelina saw Stephanie McMahon walk out. "There's Stephanie now," she pointed out. As she was speaking, Stephanie looked first one way, then the other. "She can't see her car," Zelina realised. That was enough to start her laughing, while the guys totally lost it.

"I can't fucking breathe," Bobby said, doubled over in hysterics.

"I'm sorry about my language," Elena said now that she had calmed down, remembering that when all was said and done, these were her clients.

"Don't be. I haven't laughed like that in a long time," Joe said, wiping tears from his eyes.

Now parked up, Elena got out of her seat again to go and open the luggage compartment for them. Zelina followed Seth off the bus. They soon had their travel cases, and were ready to walk into the building.

"I'm going to stay behind and talk to Daga," Bayley said, excusing herself.

"Okay, see you in there," Zelina said, while the guys all said similar things. As she and Seth began walking ahead of the others, Zelina wondered if Bayley was going to ask Elena to reign herself in a bit. Personally, she wouldn't have gone that far. The confrontation had been amusing. The guys had certainly loved it.

"What's Bay's problem?" Seth asked. "You found that funny, didn't you?"

"Yeah," Zelina said. "Maybe not as much as Bobby, but he's crushing hard on Daga."

Seth had to laugh again. "You think? She doesn't even play for that team."

"I think that just makes it worse for him," Zelina grinned.

"Maybe you're right," Seth chuckled. "I see Stephanie found her car," he added, since the boss and the infamous SUV were now gone.

"Speaking of McMahon's, do you really think I should speak to Vince about the Renee stuff?"

She was referring to the kayfabe heat that had been developing between her and Renee, despite the fact that it hadn't been specifically scripted to do so. The fans were picking up on it and liking it, so Seth had suggested Zelina should ask Vince to officially make something of it.

"Of course. We already talked about it," Seth replied, a little confused by the question.

"I know. The thing is, apart from a hello in passing or something, I've only ever spoken to him once, that night I was told I'd be managing you. I've always dealt with Hunter."

"Even more reason to go see him, then," Seth said in an encouraging manner. "Go in there with your idea and impress the guy."

Zelina wished she shared his confidence, but she still felt uneasy about talking to Vince. She knew his reputation as well as anyone else, and was therefore aware that things might not go well if she caught him in the wrong mood.

"Honestly, it'll be fine," Seth said in response to her silence. "You created this thing with your initiative, and taking it further now can only be a good thing. Just be confident and pitch it to him like you believe in it."

"Okay, I will," Zelina said, drawing confidence from him. They were approaching the women's locker room, where they would part ways. "Should I go see him now, or wait a bit?"

"I'd go now; catch him before things get busy."

They stopped walking outside the women's locker room. "Alright," she agreed. "I'll just drop my case in here, then I'll go find his office."

"Okay," Seth said while Bobby and Joe walked past them. Leaning down, Seth gave her a reassuring kiss on the forehead. "You've got this, muñeca."

"Thank you, baby," she said lovingly. "You're always so supportive. You're the best."

"That's really sweet," he said, giving her a kiss on the lips. "Message me when you're done and let me know it went, okay?"

"Okay. I love you."

"Love you, too."

After another kiss, Seth headed off along the hallway and Zelina walked into the locker room.

"Hey, girl," Sonya Deville said, seeing her walk in. Sonya was the one woman on Smackdown who Zelina called a friend – not that she was on bad terms with any of the others.

"Hey," Zelina said warmly, walking over to the empty locker next to her friend.

"How's life on the tour bus?" Sonya asked.

"I'm enjoying it," Zelina replied positively. "It's taking some getting used to, traveling with a larger group of people, especially Bobby and Joe. They're great guys, but they're just really..." She searched for the word she wanted.

"Guys?" Sonya suggested with a laugh.

"Well, yeah," Zelina giggled. "Sleeping on a moving bus is very odd, too. I'll get used to it, though. Listen, Son, can we pick this up later? I've got to go speak to Vince about an idea Seth and I have been talking over. I want to catch him before it gets busy."

"No problem."

The chat with her friend had only been brief, but it saw Zelina leaving the locker room with a smile on her face. To try and offset her concerns about talking to the Chairman, she reminded herself that there had been nothing unpleasant about their previous meeting. In fact, he had been quite pleasant to her.

It only took her a minute or so to find Vince's office. When she knocked on the door, she made sure to come across as confident, not timid.

"Come!" Vince instructed from inside.

Zelina opened the door, finding the Chairman at his desk, just removing his reading glasses. It looked like he had been making last minute adjustments to part of the script for that night's show. She was glad to see a smile appear on his face when he saw her.

"Ah, Zelina, come in. I've been meaning to have you in for a word for the past couple of weeks."

"Really?" she asked, wondering if she was going to be reprimanded for something. But then, she probably wouldn't have had to wait for that, she reasoned.

"Have a seat," Vince instructed, gesturing to one of the chairs in front of his desk. He carried on speaking as she sat down. "I wanted to say that you've been doing very well since we called you up. It has been noticed."

It wasn't the most enthusiastic compliment Zelina had ever received, but she recognised that it was possibly the most important. Vince McMahon was liking her work on the main roster. That was a huge deal. "Thank you, Vince. That means a lot to me," she said genuinely.

Vince nodded to acknowledge her, then asked, "What was it you wanted to see me about?"

"I, uh, was hoping to pitch an idea to you."

"An idea?" One of his eyebrows lifted a little. "I'm listening."

"Actually, it's something that's kind of already going on. I'm talking about the way things have played out between Renee and I, with me getting confrontational with her for bringing me bad news all the time, then sticking her nose in my business on commentary last week. I've enjoyed going at it with her, and I've noticed a lot of people commenting on it on my Twitter feed. It seems like they're enjoying watching it, so I thought we might, you know, take it further?" Inwardly, she cursed herself for faltered towards the end, expecting to get shot down.

Vince didn't say anything for a few seconds. Eventually, he nodded slowly. "That's not a bad idea, Zelina. You have bounced off each other quite well, and I like how it would get more attention on the fact that we've introduced a female commentator."

While she hadn't considered that aspect of it until then, Zelina found herself thinking that was a good point. Renee was breaking ground in WWE, and deserved some time in the spotlight as a result.

"I can have it written that tensions continue to build between you," Vince was saying. "It shouldn't be hard to pull off, since you're at ringside a lot." He paused for a moment, and Zelina saw his eyes light up. She had caught his imagination. "Picture this: You get into an argument with Renee about something. It gets heated. Maybe she stands up, shouting back at you. The fans would pop for that. But you shove her, and she goes down. Feeling pleased with yourself, you go back and stand by the ring, watching the match. Little do you know, Renee has got up and thrown her headset off. She comes from behind you and smashes you in the back of the head, knocking you down."

"Yes!" Zelina exclaimed, thrilled by what he was describing. "I can see her standing there over me, looking furious, maybe yelling at me not to touch her again. I'd be looking up at her, too shocked that she put her hands on me to even be angry."

"And the fans would be going wild," Vince put in. "The logical payoff would be a match between you."

Say what? Zelina thought, her mouth dropping open. She had just casually been offered her first match in WWE, albeit against someone who wasn't a wrestler. "I'd love that," she managed to say.

"Leave it with me. We'll discuss it at our next meeting. Was there anything else?"

"No, thank you," Zelina said, sensing that the conversation had just been abruptly brought to a close.

"Okay. Thanks for coming in." With that, Vince gave a small hand gesture towards the door, dismissing her.

Zelina got up and left the office. As soon as she was outside in the hallway, she wanted to text Seth to tell him what had happened. Not only had Vince taken her suggestion on-board, he had mentioned the possibility of putting her in a match!

She reached for her right pocket, where she always carried her phone. It was empty. "Oh, no," she groaned, fearing she had lost the phone. She could remember having it in her hand just before the bus had arrived at the arena. Hopefully it was still on there, somewhere.

Hurrying back to the parking garage, she saw that the bus looked empty. There was no sign of Elena. "Great," Zelina sighed, imagining herself having to search high and low for their driver.

On the off chance, she approached the bus and pressed the button to open the door. To her surprise, it slid open with a quiet hiss.

"Daga?" she called out as she walked up the steps. "I lost my phone. Have you seen it anywhere?"

For a brief moment, Zelina was confused. There was no sign of Elena. But then she heard an Italian curse word come from the back of the bus, and noticed that the curtain was drawn in front of the double bed. Some giggling came from behind the curtain. It was a woman, but it didn't sound like Elena.

Seeing her phone sitting on the couch where she and Seth had been, Zelina walked over and picked it up. The curtain opened slightly, and Elena emerged, looking sheepish. That was a first. Apparently being caught almost in bed with someone was enough to do it.

"Sorry to, uh, interrupt," Zelina said awkwardly. She couldn't imagine where Elena had found a girl from to get busy with in the short time they had been at the arena, so she just had to ask. In any case, bringing random people onto the bus without asking wasn't really on. "Who were you back there with?"

The curtain opened again, and Zelina's mouth dropped open for the second time in five minutes. Standing there with her hair in a mess and bright red cheeks was Bayley.

"I don't suppose we can keep this quiet, can we, Zelina?"


	23. Chapter 23

"Bay, if you're going to keep seeing Daga, you're going to have to tell the rest of the guys. Why do you think Seth and I got our relationship out there to you all right away? We spend so many hours on that bus together as a group, that kind of thing isn't going to stay secret."

Looking across the table that she and Bayley had just sat down at in the catering area, Zelina couldn't remember having seen someone look so awkward. Bayley's cheeks were still red in embarrassment at being caught, not in bed with Elena D'Agostino, but definitely on the bed, engaged in some kind of sexual activity.

"I can't, Zelina," Bayley said uncomfortably. "I've never even told anyone in our group that I'm bi. Now I'm supposed to come out and say, 'Guys, Daga and I are a thing?' Besides, I don't know if we are a thing. That was the first time anything has, uh, happened between us."

"Well..." Zelina started, but Bayley continued to ramble.

"I don't know what it is about Daga. Whenever I'm around her, I just find her so alluring. The way she looks, the way she acts, especially the way she talks. That Italian accent just kills me. We were standing in line next to each other in that coffee place we stopped at this morning and there was a moment when she looked up from her phone at me. Our eyes met and my legs literally went shaky. I wanted to kiss her right there and then. She's like a magnet or something, pulling me in. I... Sorry," she said, finally realising how much she had said.

"No, it's fine," Zelina assured her, sipping at her green tea. "Please don't get the idea that I'm judging you for being with a woman, or that it's Daga, because I'm not. I think it's amazing you feel so strongly for her. But what I'm saying is, back there on the bus you asked me to keep this quiet. Fair enough, I'm not going to say anything. But you need to take my original point on-board. If this thing is going to continue for you guys, it's not going to stay a secret on that bus. It just isn't. That's all I'm saying."

Bayley spent a moment drinking her coffee. "I know you're right," she said with a sigh. "I guess Daga and I have some talking to do about what happened back there."

"Yeah, I think you do."

"For now, can we change the subject? I feel so awkward right now."

"Alright," Zelina agreed easily. "How do you feel about turning heel? It's a big change for your character, yet you've not seemed too troubled by it."

"I've been pushing for it," Bayley revealed, surprising Zelina. "The past year or so, since I dropped the Raw Women's Championship, I've gone pretty much nowhere. I felt it was time for a change, and I don't have a problem working heel. I've done it before I joined WWE."

While what she had heard was surprising, Zelina was glad about it. She hoped to become friends with Bayley, and for that reason wanted her to be as happy to be a member of The Vega Cartel group as the others. "If you're happy, that's great," she smiled. "What about the way they've written it to go down?"

"I love it; can't wait to get out there."

* * *

_Tuesday Night Smackdown - April 17th 2018_

Smackdown went on air with Renee welcoming the audience to the show. Then the commentary team announced a couple of matches that would feature on the show, with graphics shown on the screen.

"The newly-formed team of Samoa Joe and Bobby Roode will take on The Bludgeon Brothers in tag team action," Renee said. "The winners will take on The Usos for the Smackdown Tag Team Championships in two weeks at the Fully Loaded pay-per-view."

"They're called The Vega Cartel, Renee," Graves corrected her. "Were you not listening to Zelina last week? No wonder she loses her cool with you."

The next graphic appeared, and Renee used it as an excuse to quickly move on. "And in our main event tonight, Sasha Banks will face Sonya Deville."

Coach joined in. "The winner of this match will also get a title shot at Fully Loaded, against Carmella for the Smackdown Women's Championship."

"It will be Carmella's first defense of her title since successfully cashing in her Money in the Bank contract at Wrestlemania," Graves said.

A shot of the arena's parking garage replaced the match graphic. A large black tour bus was just pulling in, coming to a stop near to the building's entrance. The word Vega stood out on the side, in fancy gold lettering.

"That's a very nice bus," Renee said.

"I think we're witnessing the arrival, for the first time, of The Vega Cartel," Graves said excitedly.

Sure enough, the bus's door opened and Zelina stepped out into the garage, to a loud chorus of boos from the fans in the arena. The look on her face could best be described as self-satisfied.

"There she is, the leader of The Vega Cartel," Renee said with a notable absence of warmth.

Behind Zelina, Seth exited the bus, followed by Joe, then Bobby. All three men were dressed smartly, as was their leader. They purposely walked into the building, with a camera tracking them from in front.

"We saw Vega form her Cartel last week, after she told Stephanie McMahon right to her face that she is going to take over Smackdown," Coach said. "Regardless of what you think about Zelina, you can't deny she has guts."

"And determination," Graves added. "I can't remember the last time I saw someone front up to Stephanie like that – like she was nobody."

"Guys, are The Vega Cartel coming out here now?" Renee asked, monitoring their progress through the backstage areas.

"I hope so," Coach said. "Because I would really love to know why Samoa Joe and Bobby Roode decided to align themselves with Vega."

Continuing to watch the new team, Renee said, "They are. They're coming out here."

She was right. A brand new hard rock entrance theme began to play, along with a new video on the big screen in the arena. The video featured shots of Zelina and the members of her team in turn, mixed in with frames of the gold Vega logo on a black background. The crowd booed the start of the music.

"This is so great already," Graves said sickeningly. "Can't we just be done with Stephanie McMahon? I'd sign Smackdown over to Vega right now if I could."

"Count me out," Renee muttered.

"And there they are," Coach said over the top of more boos as the powerful new stable walked out onto the stage. They posed at the top of the entrance ramp for a moment - the three guys standing side by side in a line, behind their boss.

"Wow. What a sight that is," Graves said. "I don't see what answer McMahon has to that."

"She'd better come up with one pretty quick," Renee had to admit. "And you've got to believe that before that can happen, Stephanie has to get on the same page with Daniel Bryan."

"Let's not forget that Seth Rollins has, in writing, a cast iron guarantee of a one on one match with AJ Styles for the WWE Championship at Fully Loaded," Coach said. "Ironically, it was Stephanie McMahon herself who signed off on that, as part of her negotiations to bring Rollins and Vega to Smackdown as her number one draft pick."

"Zelina played Stephanie like a violin," Graves said, laughing about it.

By now, The Vega Cartel were in the ring. Joe subserviently fetched a microphone and handed it to Zelina.

"Alright, shut your mouths," she said to those who were booing as the entrance music faded out. Predictably, her instruction had the opposite effect to that which she had intended. Seth was shown shaking his head at the fan's rudeness.

"Last week," Zelina went on after a moment, "I put Stephanie McMahon, and the world, on notice as to what's going to happen over the next few weeks. The Vega Cartel are going to take over Tuesday Night Smackdown. This show and everyone on it will be ruled by me."

Another round of boos came her way, while she scowled out into the stands.

"Now, since last Tuesday, all I've been reading, all I've been hearing, is people saying, 'Why did Samoa Joe and Bobby Roode align with Zelina Vega?'" She had spoken in the manner of a simpleton, further insulting the fans. "Hell, that dim-witted idiot Renee Young is probably saying it right now," she added, pointing an accusing finger at the commentator.

Renee was shown, looking less than happy at being referred to in that manner.

"Well, let me ask you a question," Zelina went on, turning to face her team members. "What do these three men have in common? The answer is they're all fantastic talents. They're fantastic talents, but let's be honest, they're also failures. Seth Rollins, until I came along, had done nothing since 2015. Samoa Joe; a year on the main roster, accomplishing what? Nothing. And Bobby Roode, one United States Championship. Pathetic."

"Are they really going to stand there and let her talk about them like that?" Renee asked.

"You see, the problem with all of these men was not talent," Zelina was saying. "The problem was application. What these men needed was leadership. What these men realised they needed, was Zelina Vega," she proclaimed arrogantly, setting the crowd off again.

Bobby and Joe were shown talking to each other, clearly agreeing that what she had said was true.

"I have now formed the cartel that will oust Stephanie McMahon from her position of power on Smackdown," Zelina said once the fans had settled down again. "Here you see the three members. But I feel like four is the right number. That means I have room for one more person. What I'm looking for is someone to stand up; to stand up and impress me. I want someone to show me that they want to work under the woman who is going to run this show. And for that person, whoever it turns out to be, I make the same guarantee that I made these three gentlemen: Join me, work for me, and I'll take you to the very top of this business."

"What does she mean by that?" Coach asked.

"Because let me remind you all," Zelina said, slapping Seth hard on the chest. "This man right here has a guaranteed WWE Championship opportunity at Fully Loaded." She walked over to Joe and Bobby, slapping them in the same manner. "And these two men right here will tonight win an opportunity at the Smackdown Tag Team Championships at the same pay-per-view. So, the way I see it, that leaves either the United States Championship or the Smackdown Women's Championship for my final recruit, should someone suitable impress me and swear their loyalty to me as these men have."

"Vega is the biggest egomaniac I've ever seen," Renee said with real distaste.

"Careful," Graves warned. "She'll be your boss before long, once McMahon is gone."

"She'll never be the boss of me, I can promise you that."

In the ring, Zelina was ready to wrap up the segment. "There's an old saying in wrestling: Whoever has the gold has the power. By the time Fully Loaded is over, the members of The Vega Cartel will have the gold, and I will have the power. Watch us."

With that, Zelina dropped her microphone and led her team from the ring with their music playing.

"Zelina Vega has it all planned out," Coach said. "I repeat the point that was made earlier: Stephanie McMahon had better get on the same page with Daniel Bryan and do something about the clear and present danger that is in front of her. Otherwise, I think we're going to be looking at a reign of terror the likes of which we've never seen."

BREAK

Sasha Banks and Sonya Deville had been going at it in Smackdown's main event for almost fifteen minutes. With a title shot on the line, there had been high drama over several near falls before the action had spilled to the outside.

Sonya connected with the martial arts kick to the face that had become her finishing move.

"What a kick!" Coach exclaimed. "That turned Sasha Banks' lights out."

"But the fall can only count in the ring," Renee reminded everyone.

Fully aware of that fact, Deville picked Banks up and shoveled her into the ring under the bottom rope. That was when someone appeared in the shot, rushing Sonya from behind, grabbing her and smashing her face first into the nearby ring steps with a thunderous crash. The referee immediately threw out the match.

"What the... That's Bayley!" Renee called out in surprise. "Bayley attacked Sonya Deville from behind! Why?"

The crowd were not really reacting, unsure what was going on themselves.

"Uh, Bayley is friends with Sasha Banks," Coach said, making it sound like a guess at a motive.

Even as he had been saying it, Bayley had entered the ring and marched over to Banks, who was lying flat on her back.

"Are you sure about that?" Graves asked his colleague as Bayley started kicking the hell out of Sasha. The fans were now starting to catch on that they were witnessing a heel turn, to their horror.

"Bayley picking Sasha up now. What is this about?" Renee demanded. A powerful Bayley-to-Belly was delivered. "Why has Bayley turned on her best friend?"

Almost in a frenzy, Bayley picked Banks up again and set up her finishing move. "And a second time," Coach winced as the move hit. "She's had enough, Bayley!"

Bayley didn't seem to agree. She walked over to the corner of the ring and demanded the ring announcer hand her a chair.

"We need some security down here," Renee called out, as if she was talking directly to the people back in Gorilla. "Bayley has totally lost it."

That looked to be a very accurate statement. Bayley walked over to Sasha and started battering her with the chair, slamming it into her legs, stomach, and her arms as she tried to cover herself up. She was screaming in agony.

"My God, what has gotten into Bayley?" Coach demanded in shock.

Finally finished with her savage beat down, breathing heavily with the effort she had put into it, Bayley tossed the chair aside and bailed out of the ring. Most of the fans were too shocked to give her much heat.

That changed when The Vega Cartel's music hit. Boos rained down as Graves said, "Here comes Zelina Vega, leading her cartel out here! Seth Rollins, the number one contender for the WWE Championship, and Samoa Joe and Bobby Roode, the number one contenders for the Smackdown Tag Team Championships after their win earlier tonight. Guys, do you realise what's just happened?"

After hearing the music start, Bayley had given a triumphant fist pump and shouted, "Yes!" The recognition she had sought for her actions was happening.

"I can't believe..." Renee mumbled in answer to Graves, unable to even finish a sentence that suggested Bayley, of all people, joining forces with Vega.

Zelina met Bayley halfway down the entrance ramp, with a look of real fire in her eyes. She said something aggressively to the taller woman. The words were not audible, but the impression was that Zelina was demanding Bayley swear herself to the cartel.

Bayley said something in reply, nodding, then Zelina grabbed hold of her head, pulling it down slightly so that their foreheads almost touched. Vega was almost manic in delight, shouting in the face of her new recruit. Reaching up, she pulled the hair band out of Bayley's hair, releasing the side ponytail. It was now a thing of the past. With that display over, Zelina pointed back down to the ring and ordered, "Get back down there!"

"Now what?" Renee demanded. "Bayley and the cartel are coming back to the ring. Sasha Banks has just been beaten senseless with a steel chair. Isn't that enough?"

"Not for Zelina Vega it's not," Graves said. "Don't you remember? Zelina made Banks a promise last month on Raw. You might have forgotten; Banks might have forgotten, but I can assure you Zelina didn't."

"Oh my God," Renee said as the realisation dawned on her. "Last month, Sasha Banks helped out Finn Balor by tying up Zelina Vega and leaving her in a storeroom. When she got free, Vega promised to cripple Sasha."

Graves said, "Yes she did. And she promised Banks would see her face every time she closed her eyes during rehab."

"That's sadistic," Coach said.

Bayley and Vega were now in the ring, with the guys standing guard at the bottom of the entrance ramp. The chair Bayley had used to destroy Sasha was bent totally out of shape, so she went over and demanded another one.

"Get her ankle in there!" Zelina ordered, still in the manic state that Bayley's destruction of Sasha had sent her into.

Obeying the instruction, Bayley dragged Sasha a bit closer to one of the corners of the ring, then opened the chair and placed Sasha's ankle through the gap. Meanwhile, Vega had climbed to the top rope.

"Don't do it!" Renee cried out.

Vega jumped as high as she could and came crashing down with both feet on the chair. Screaming at the top of her voice in the utmost pain, Sasha rolled around, clutching at her ankle.

"You've got to believe Zelina Vega just broke Sasha Banks' ankle," Coach said in disgust. "This is way too far now."

"Get her ass in the corner, and keep her there!" Zelina ordered Bayley next.

The instruction was quickly carried out. Sasha was dragged over to the corner and made to sit with her shoulders against the bottom turnbuckle. Bayley slid out of the ring to go and stand behind her, restraining her in place. Banks was literally crying at the pain that had been inflicted on her.

As the graphic to signal the end of the show appeared in the corner of the screen, Zelina crouched over Sasha, their eyes inches apart. Vega had an expression of pure evil on her face. "I told you, Banks!" she screamed. "I told you I would cripple you! Look in my eyes and remember my face! This is the face you will see every time you close your eyes! Zelina Vega doesn't pay her debts in money!"

"Bayley has joined The Vega Cartel, and Sasha Banks has been taken out," Renee said, as if the words were close to making her spew up. "Bayley, Rollins, the whole group of them, especially Vega, are vile human beings. They make me sick."


	24. Chapter 24

"Look what I forgot I packed," Joe said as he got onto the tour bus. He was holding up a poker set in a metal box.

"Yes!" Bobby said, lounging back in what had become his chair. "I thought about suggesting poker a couple of times, but I kept forgetting."

With the luggage hold secured, Elena came up the steps. "Ready to go?" she asked the group.

"Yep," Seth nodded before turning to Zelina, who was settled in next to him on their usual couch. "How about it, muñeca? You up for some poker?"

Zelina looked at him with a sly grin. "I'm actually quite a good player. My brother taught me to play, and he used to host a poker night at our house."

Joe plonked the poker set down on the table that was fixed to the floor in the middle of the seating area. "If you were a good player, you wouldn't have told us you were a good player."

"That's a very good point," Zelina admitted with a chuckle as Elena got the bus moving.

"What about you, Bay? You in?" Seth asked.

"I don't have a clue how to play," Bayley admitted sadly. "How about I watch you guys and you try and help me learn?"

"If you're happy with that," Bobby said.

"Yeah," she confirmed pleasantly. She moved over so that Joe could sit next to her on the couch that she usually had to herself.

"I'll show you my cards and try and teach you as we go along," he offered.

Bayley smiled sweetly. "Thanks, Joe."

"So what are we saying, fifty bucks gets you in?" Bobby asked. "Four of us playing, so two hundred to the winner?"

"I'm up for that," Joe said. "I don't have the cash on me, but we can settle up tomorrow morning.

"Same," Seth said. "Fifty okay with you?" he asked Zelina.

"I'll win anyway, so it won't matter," she replied with another giggle.

Seth smiled as Joe laughed and said, "I'll believe that when I see it."

The chips were soon arranged into four equal stacks on the corners of the table, and Joe thoroughly shuffled the pack of cards. Bobby had fetched a beer for all four players and a juice for Bayley, who rarely touched alcohol.

"I'll deal, since you're teaching Bay," Bobby offered.

Joe handed over the cards. "Thanks, man." He then looked at Bayley. "So, each person is dealt two cards. There's a round of betting, then three community cards are dealt. There's another round of betting, then a fourth card, more betting, a final card, then the last round of betting. The object is to have the best five card hand at the end, combining your cards and the community cards."

"Okay," Bayley said, studiously taking all of that in. "What are the best hands? In order, I mean."

"The lowest ranking hand is just your highest card, if you don't have a pair. Then it's a pair, higher numbers being better, of course."

"Of course," Bayley nodded. "Then two pairs?" she guessed.

"Right. Then three of a kind. Then it's a straight, which is five cards all in number order. Then a flush."

"That's all the same suit," Bayley said, showing at least some basic knowledge.

"Correct. Then it's a full house, which is three of one card and a pair of another, then finally a straight flush, which five cards in order, all the same suit."

"And if you get one of those, we know you're cheating," Seth said, drawing laughter from the group.

"Alright, ready to play?" Bobby asked. Everyone confirmed that they were, so he dealt the first hand.

"The action goes anti-clockwise," Joe told Bayley. "Since Zelina is to the dealer's left, she starts the first hand. Next time Seth with start, and so on."

Zelina looked at her cards. A six of hearts and a three of clubs. "And I start with garbage," she said, sliding her cards back to Bobby, while Joe explained how folding your hand worked.

Out of the action, Zelina picked up her phone. In a more serious game, she would have sat and watched her opponents to learn how they played. But this was just for fun. If it had been serious, she would also not have talked about her hand. She knew she had a very good poker face, so she didn't ruin it by talking when she was in a hand.

While Seth and Joe slowly played out the hand, with Joe whispering in Bayley's ear about what was going on, Zelina checked her Twitter. One of her most recent mentions caught her eye. One of her more active fans had shared an article, tagged her in it, and written: so proud of you, girl.

Zelina clicked the link, recognising the site as one of the most reputable dirt sheets, if that wasn't a contradiction in terms. When she saw the headline, her eyes widened a little in surprise.

Zelina Vega – WWE's fastest-rising star right now?

"God damn," she said under her breath, finding the suggestion ludicrous. She wasn't even a wrestler!

Her eyes were drawn to the main body of the article. The author was talking about how her brilliant portrayal of her character and her promo work, which was described as the best in the business, meant that The Vega Cartel were the only real reason to get excited about the new Tuesday Night Smackdown, despite the whole raft of changes that had been made. The Vega Cartel had the potential, the article alleged, to be the first great stable since Evolution. The primary reason given was that 'Vega is the best heel I can remember seeing for a very long time.'

"Insanity," she said, shaking her head.

"It's on you, babe," Seth said next to her, alerting her to the fact that the second hand was underway. "What's insanity?"

Zelina checked her cards and folded her second load of junk. With that done, she showed her phone to Seth. "Someone's on drugs," she said with a baffled smile.

After taking a minute to read over the article while Bobby and Joe played the hand, Seth said, "He's maybe laying it on a bit thick that we're the only good thing about Smackdown, but he's right about you. Your promo work is absolute fire, and the fans genuinely hate you. I don't think you realise how well you've settled into this new role."

One thing Zelina couldn't argue with was the heat. On that night's Smackdown episode, the first with Bayley on the team, she had been required to cut a promo about Bayley joining the cartel, then going on to tear into Stephanie McMahon again, as well as taking a jab at Renee Young. During the promo, the crowd had been genuinely venomous towards her – a fact that she hadn't failed to notice. When Stephanie had come out, she had actually gotten some cheers for the first time. That had been the objective Hunter had stated for The Vega Cartel. It wasn't taking long to deliver.

Mocking Sasha Banks' kayfabe injury had also drawn heat. Things had played out perfectly in that regard, Zelina thought. Her character had needed to exact revenge, Bayley had needed a dastardly way to turn heel, and Sasha had happened to require a minor knee surgery 'to clean it up a bit', as Hunter had put it, meaning she had needed to be written off the show. After a month or so of rehab, Sasha could come back full of vengeance for Zelina and Bayley.

The heat wasn't just on Zelina, though. Seth's cheap win over Randy Orton in the main event had also induced considerable anger in the crowd.

"I'm just doing my job," she said humbly to her boyfriend.

"Yeah, and you're doing it incredibly well. That's why people are writing things like that," Seth said, handing her phone back.

"What does it say?" Bayley asked.

Zelina felt herself blushing, wishing he had just kept her mouth shut. "It's an article trying to claim I'm WWE's fastest-rising star right now. Like I said, insanity. I don't even wrestle."

"Maybe not, but you are killing it," Bayley said, to agreement from the rest of the guys.

Zelina was past the point of getting tearful when her teammates supported her, but it still meant so much to her.

The third hand was dealt. Acting first, Joe made a bet. Bobby folded his hand. Zelina checked her cards, finding a pair of tens. Game time. She threw in enough chips for a raise, then sat back, poker face on.

"Nothing," Seth said as he folded.

"Call," Joe said after a brief deliberation. He put in the chips to match Zelina's raise.

In a move that her brother had taught her, she watched Joe rather than the cards while Bobby put the first three on the table.

The action was on Joe again. Looking at Zelina across the table, he laughed then spoke to Bayley. "That's what you call a poker face right there."

Bayley grinned her appreciation. Zelina had only just allowed herself a quick look at the cards that were on the table. 3, 7, Queen. All different suits. The Queen wasn't the best card for her tens, but she hadn't seen anything about Joe that worried her.

"Three hundred," the big guy said, throwing in chips.

It was a relatively small bet, designed to test the water. Zelina felt like the Queen worried him as much as it did her. She decided to call his bet, doing so without a word.

The fourth community card was another 7. No help to Zelina. She got the impression that Joe didn't know where he was in the hand. She put him on a low pocket pair, maybe 5's. If that was the case, he might bet big to try and get her off her hand.

"One thousand," Joe said, throwing in more chips.

The pot was now a decent size, and Zelina felt sure she had the best hand. Joe would likely have checked the action to her to try and get her on the hook if he had a Queen, or if he had a 7 in his hand for some reason. She called his bet again.

The final community card was a 2. No straight or flush options existed. Zelina felt she had the best hand, and knew Joe was in a tough spot if he was weak. He could bet to try and force her off her hand again, which hadn't worked last time, or he could check to her, basically admitting defeat.

Joe sat there whispering his thought process to Bayley for a minute before deciding to check to Zelina.

As soon as he did that, Zelina knew she had outplayed him and won the hand. It was a case of whether she could get any more chips out of him. She threw in six hundred more. Now he would have to pay if he wanted to see what she had been holding.

"You really hit that Queen?" Joe asked skeptically.

Zelina kept her face impassive, but she wasn't impressed with the question. Joe wasn't the player he thought he was if he figured she would have played a Queen that way.

"No, I don't think you did," he decided.

Okay, maybe he wasn't so bad.

"Okay, I call."

Or maybe he was.

As Zelina was the one who had been called, etiquette dictated she should show her cards first. She turned over her 10's.

"Fuck it," Joe groaned, turning over a pair of 8's.

"Aww, you just got shit on, son," Bobby told him, laughing about it.

Seth nodded, impressed by Zelina's play. "Nice hand."

Zelina said nothing and showed no emotion while she added the chips she had just won to her stack. The next time she spoke was once the next hand was underway, and she had folded. "I haven't played in a while. I kind of forgot how much fun it is."

"I used to play a lot with Rome and Dean," Seth said. Unlike her, he had no problem chatting away while he played.

Zelina gave him a comforting smile, knowing how much he missed traveling with his best friends.

"You know, we talked about entering the World Series of Poker Main Event one year," he added.

"That would be awesome," Zelina agreed.

"What's that?" Bayley asked, meaning the event they were talking about.

"The biggest poker event in the world," Seth said. "Thousands of people enter. I think the field was over seven thousand last year. It's ten grand to enter."

"Which is why I've never done it," Zelina laughed.

"Ten grand? Man," Bayley said, shaking her head. "And seven thousand people? It must last forever."

"I takes place over two weeks or so, but it's about seven days of play if you make the final table," Seth said. "Of course, you're a millionaire if you get that far."

"Really?" she asked, raising her eyebrows. "What does the overall winner get?"

Seth shrugged. "About eight million, I think."

"Eight million dollars," Bobby said. "That would drop in nicely."

Seth laughed. "It sure would. But the main reason you'd enter is for the experience."

"I'd love to do it one year," Zelina said.

"Then we will," Seth replied.

Zelina laughed. "I wish. I don't have ten grand to spend on something like that."

"My treat, then," he said, being totally serious.

"Wait, really?" Zelina asked excitedly.

"Sure. Assuming Hunter will give us the time off in July, we'll go do it together. But I want half the money if you win the damned thing," he added with a grin.

Zelina laughed, overjoyed at what he had promised her. "Deal! Thank you so much, Seth! You're amazing!"

"Can I come too, daddy?" Joe asked, teasing.

"Yeah, with your own ten grand," Seth said dryly. "Although, seeing how you play, I wouldn't bother."

The whole group erupted into laughter, even Joe.

* * *

"That's why fried breakfasts are such a good thing," Seth said.

He was teasing Zelina over the fact that her vegan diet didn't provide much in the way of a hangover cure; something that all of the poker players from the previous night could have used. The game had been a lot of fun, but they had gotten a bit carried away with the drinking, completely emptying the fridge of beer. Seth could at least enjoy the fact that he would be two hundred bucks better off once everyone paid him his winnings.

"I'd rather have a hangover than eat that," Zelina said, pulling a face.

They were walking through the lobby of their hotel with their travel cases, ready to board the tour bus. Elena would be driving them into New York, where that night's live event was taking place.

To Zelina's surprise, Elena and Bayley hadn't said anything about what was happening between them, and no one else seemed to have figured it out, even though the flirting seemed quite obvious to her. But then, she knew it was there, she supposed, making it more apparent.

"Damn. Did I put my charger in my case?" she heard Seth say behind her.

She was nearly at the hotel's front entrance, so she didn't bother to stop and wait for him. Elena had parked the bus right out front. "Great," Zelina sighed when she saw that there were some hotel-stalking fans out there. How did they even find out where wrestlers stayed? She had no idea. Ordinarily, she would be polite and stop briefly for a few pictures, but with a hangover, she could do without it.

As soon as she emerged into the bright sunlight – which did her sore head no favours, even with sunglasses on – she heard people start calling out her name. They also started to crowd around her a bit, holding up her progress getting to the bus.

"Running late, guys, sorry," she said, keeping her head down. She only got a few feet before she walked into someone. Someone had really been obnoxious enough to stand right in front of her.

"Look, can you get out..." she began. She froze when she looked up and saw who she had bumped into. It had been no accident.

"Zelina, we really need to talk," David Hernandez said, looking down at her expectantly.

Feeling fear taking hold of her, Zelina instinctively took a step back. She tripped over her own travel case and ended up sitting on her ass on the sidewalk. "Get away from me!" she shouted, cowering away from David.

None of the fans knew what the hell was going on, but they recognised a scared woman when they saw one, and began to walk over to defend her.

"I just want to talk, that's all," David said soothingly, standing over her. He extended his hand to help her up, but Zelina flinched as if he was going to strike her.

"Help! Get him away!" she cried out.

"Back the fuck up, man," one of the fans ordered David, getting in between him and Zelina.

A shouting match quickly broke out while someone helped Zelina up, then Seth finally came rushing out of the hotel. "What the hell's going on out here?" he demanded angrily, seeing only that his girl appeared to be stuck in the middle of a mob of rowdy fans. Shoving his way through the crowd, he reached Zelina, finding her crying and looking panic-stricken. "What's happened?" he asked her.

Zelina just pointed, her hand shaking.

Looking in the direction she indicated, Seth saw David scuffling with a couple of fans, who were trying to drag him across the street, out of the way. "Motherfucker," Seth snarled, his eyes darkening in anger. He started walking in David's direction, fully intent on punching his face in.

"No, Seth!" Zelina cried out, holding onto his arm for dear life. "No! Don't hit him. Just get me out of here, please."

Seth stopped and looked down at her. Literally all he wanted to do was punch David again and again, until his fists hurt too much to throw another punch. But his girl needed him. She was upset; terrified, in fact. He had to stay with her.

"What the fuck's going on?" This time it was Joe asking the question, having arrived with Bobby and Bayley.

Despite what his animal instinct wanted to do, Seth made a decision as Elena approached, also looking concerned, having heard shouting from on the bus. "On the bus, now," Seth ordered, leaving no room for argument or discussion. "Daga, let's move, double time."

Seth ushered Zelina up the steps, ignoring the audience of fans they still had. Bayley and Bobby followed, while Joe and Elena hastily threw the cases into the hold.

Within a minute, the bus was rolling. As it pulled away, Seth was sitting with Zelina in his arms, shaking. Looking out of the window, he could see David standing across the street, watching the bus. In that moment, Seth wished the bus didn't have tinted windows. He wanted David to see his expression, which said, 'Come near her again, I'll kill you.'


	25. Chapter 25

"We both want to thank you, Hunter," Seth said.

He and Zelina had just walked into the boss's office backstage before Smackdown's Fully Loaded pay-per-view. The previous day, they had gotten the news that, thanks to a lot of help from the team at WWE headquarters, David Hernandez had been issued with a second restraining order. This one had been brought by Zelina personally rather than WWE, and prevented David from coming within fifty feet of her. If he repeated his stunt from the week before outside of the hotel, he would be going back to jail.

Seth had explained the incident to the rest of the guys on the bus by saying that David was a stalker fan who Zelina had had problems with for some time. They had seemed to accept the story on face value, since they had no reason not to. Joe had promised that if he saw David near her again, he would flatten him. It had made Zelina feel safer, knowing that not only Seth, but the others as well would have her back if the unthinkable happened and the son of a bitch dared to show his face again.

"Don't mention it," Hunter said. "Sadly, it's not the first time we've had to do something like this. Don't worry, Zelina, he's not going to come near you again now."

"Thanks," Zelina smiled. She had been shaken up for a few hours after David had confronted her, until Seth had contacted Hunter and he had suggested applying for the second, stricter restraining order. It had been harder to get approved than the first, but David's past criminal record had presumably made the decision come down in their favour.

"He's lucky. I really was going to end him," Seth said.

Hunter grimaced. "Well, now you don't have to. And we don't have to worry about having one of our top guys in jail."

"No, but we could do with that scumbag in there. Or swinging from the end of a few feet of rope."

"I hear you," Hunter said in an understanding tone. "But realistically, we've done what we can."

"Yeah, I know," Seth sighed, trying to stop himself getting worked up again.

"Have you guys read over the format for tonight?" Hunter asked, trying to brighten the mood as well as change the subject.

Zelina nodded. "Yeah."

"Thoughts?"

"Surprised," she went with after some consideration.

Hunter laughed. "That sounds about right. It's kind of what we're going for."

They talked over each of The Vega Cartel's three matches on the show for a few minutes, then Hunter said, "Zelina, your idea for a match with Renee came up for discussion a couple of days ago."

"It was Vince's idea, not mine," Zelina corrected.

"Okay," Hunter said indifferently. "Whoever's idea it was, the point is that it's going ahead. At next month's Smackdown pay-per-view, Payback, you and Renee will be in action. She's working four days a week down in Orlando between now and then so that we can get her ready."

"Wow, thanks, Hunter," Zelina said. There was a likelihood that the match would stink, since she hadn't wrestled a match in over a year herself, and Renee hadn't ever had one. But even so, it was a main roster match, on a pay-per-view. That wasn't something to turn your nose up at. "Who's going over?" she asked, half as a joke.

"Undecided as yet. But the build will start in earnest Tuesday night, following some comments Renee has been instructed to make tonight."

"Congrats, babe," Seth said warmly. Since Hunter knew they were a couple, there was no need to wait.

"Thank you," Zelina smiled happily.

"Oh, there is one more thing," Hunter said, looking like his memory had just jogged. "Seth, I need the room for a minute, please."

"Uh, okay," Seth said uneasily.

Zelina felt the same way he did. Once he had closed the door, she said, "Hunter, anything you have to say to me, you can say in front of Seth."

"I appreciate that, but that's not how we do contract discussions."

"Contract discussions?" she asked in surprise.

"Not official discussions. You'll come to the office for that in due course. But I wanted to let you know that since you're coming up on a year with us, you're up for review. You're on our rolling starter contract right now, as you know. You've proven yourself worthy of something better, so this is a heads up that you're going to be offered a multi-year deal, for more money, of course. Keep doing what you're doing, Zelina. You have a great future here if you do."

"Thanks, Hunter. That really means a lot."

"You're welcome," Hunter said in a manner that was clearly intended to bring the informal chat to a close.

* * *

_WWE Fully Loaded – April 29th 2018_

The women's championship match between Bayley and Carmella had been going on for just under ten minutes. It was the second of three title matches for the members of The Vega Cartel. So far, their leader, who was at ringside to watch Bayley in action, had every reason to be happy.

"A reminder that Bobby Roode and Samoa Joe won the Smackdown Tag Team Championships in our opening contest earlier tonight," Coach said.

"Zelina Vega promised a clean sweep tonight," Graves said. "So far, she's on course to deliver on that promise. And you know what else she said: Whoever has the gold, has the power."

"Don't remind me," Renee said, sounding like she was cringing at the thought. Just as she was speaking, Carmella got her finishing move out of nowhere on Bayley. "Oh! The Mella Buster! That's got to be all!"

It might have been, but before Carmella could roll her opponent over and make a pin, Zelina was up on the apron, shouting at the referee. He went over there to try and make her get down.

"Come on!" Renee protested. "Vega's up on the apron, while Carmella's got the match won!"

It was true. Carmella was covering Bayley, and the crowd counted all the way to five, let alone three. Zelina was shown still berating the referee, for who knew what manufactured reason.

"Get her down from there. This is ridiculous," Coach said.

"Zelina's not doing anything," Graves said, defending her.

"Not doing anything?" Renee objected. "She's up on the apron, where she's not supposed to be, and she's distracting the referee!"

Carmella had figured out why her pin wasn't being counted. She got up, rushed over to Zelina and took a swing at her. Vega was able to jump off the apron quickly enough to avoid catching a fist to the face. "Stay the hell off there!" Carmella screamed at her.

Behind the champion, Bayley wasn't as out of it as she had seemed. "Wait a minute," Coach said as she crawled over to Carmella, pulled her down from behind and rolled her over into a pinning combination.

One.

Two.

"Tights! Tights!" Renee shouted, as if trying to alert the referee to the fact that Bayley was cheating.

Three.

The crowd groaned in disappointment at the ridiculous so-called victory.

"No! Bayley had the tights!" Renee protested in genuine anger.

By the time the ring announcer started announcing the winner, Bayley and Zelina were already celebrating at the bottom of the entrance ramp, while Carmella argued her case with the referee, telling him what had happened. The ref wasn't interested, and left the ring to hand the title belt to the new champion.

Bayley snatched the belt when she was offered it and raised it in the air in celebration, with the music for The Vega Cartel playing. Dressed in all black ring attire, with her hair down, cheating to win, this was definitely a new Bayley. It was a new Bayley that no one liked. No one apart from Zelina Vega, of course, who looked delighted. She held up two fingers, with the message being clear.

"Cry about it all you want, Renee," Graves said. "The cartel are two for two, and with that, Bayley completes the Triple Crown. She's won the NXT Women's Championship, the Raw Women's Championship and now the Smackdown Women's Championship."

"How proud she must be of the way she did it," Renee griped. "She had two fists full of Carmella's tights, for God's sake. She stole the title from the woman who used to be her best friend."

"Should Seth Rollins beats AJ Styles for the WWE Championship later tonight, you might as well say goodbye to your friend Stephanie McMahon," Graves went on, ignoring her comments.

"Surely that can't happen?" Renee said. "Surely they can't win all three? Not all three, they can't."

"They can. And they will."

The look on Zelina's face conveyed the same message as Graves' words. For Seth, failure in the main event would not be an option.

* * *

"This has been an amazing match," Graves said, fifteen minutes into the main event. Seth Rollins and AJ Styles had been giving it everything they had right from the start. On the outside, Zelina was cheering the challenger on. "And you can't accuse Zelina of getting involved, Renee."

"Not yet I can't. Let's see if that's the case by the time the bell rings. We've already seen one travesty tonight – Carmella robbed of her championship the first time she defended it.

A short time later, AJ Styles gained the upper hand. Standing on the ring apron, he was able to kick Rollins square in the face, knocking him down. Cheering loudly, the fans sensed that the finish might be at hand.

"Here it comes!" Renee exclaimed as AJ got in position to deliver his finishing move. As Seth got up, AJ leapt onto the tope rope, then hurled himself through the air.

"He hit it!" Coach yelled.

"Phenomenal Forearm!" Renee cried at the same time. "AJ into the cover!"

The entire crowd joined in with the count, desperate for the cartel to taste defeat as much as wanting AJ to keep his title.

"One!"

"Two!"

The referee disappeared backwards out of the ring before he could hit the mat for the third time.

"What the hell?" Renee screamed, livid. The fans expressed the same emotion.

Before the referee could start remonstrating with Zelina, who had dragged him out of the ring by his ankle, she punched him square in the face, knocking him down, and apparently out.

"Vega pulled the referee out of the ring and assaulted him!" Renee said, sounding close to boiling over. "Styles had the match won right there!"

In the ring, AJ was back up, while Seth was still out of it after the forearm. Styles began setting up his other finisher.

"Styles going for... Yes! Styles clash!" Coach shouted as the move hit. The fans went wild again. To their delight, there was also a referee. Charles Robinson had just run down to the ring and slid under the bottom rope, at the perfect moment when AJ made the cover.

"This has got to be it!" Renee said loudly. She called the count along with the fans.

"One!"

"Two!"

"Three!"

But there hadn't actually been a three. Robinson had stopped just before his hand hit the mat. AJ looked at him wide-eyed, still making a perfectly valid cover. Robinson shook his head, saying that he couldn't count it.

"What! Where's the three?" Renee screamed, totally losing it. "Styles has the match won, for the second time!"

Zelina was shown for a second, looking very smug.

"Is Charles Robinson in the pocket of Zelina Vega?" Coach asked. The answer seemed to be obvious at this point.

Furious at the blatant way he was being screwed over, AJ got up to confront Robinson, but before he could do so, Samoa Joe and Bobby Roode hit the ring. Joe ran over the champion like a train.

"What is happening?" Renee shouted. "We've got the entire cartel out here! Roode and Joe in the ring, beating Styles down, and Bayley's out here with Vega!"

"And Charles Robinson is watching it happen," Graves said, bewildered. "What are we seeing here?"

AJ had fought back to his feet, and was valiantly trying to fight off Bobby Roode. Unfortunately, the numbers were against him. Joe had fetched a chair, and he smashed it into AJ's back with a loud crack, knocking the champion down and essentially finishing him off.

"Chair shot by Joe," Coach said with no enthusiasm whatsoever.

Booby hauled AJ up and hit him with a Glorious DDT.

"What a DDT by Roode," Graves said. "Cover him, Seth!"

Rollins was starting to come to his senses, and crawled towards the piece of human wreckage lying in the middle of the ring.

"Come on, Seth!" Graves urged.

"Not this way," Coach said. The crowd were silent now, disgusted by what they were witnessing.

Rollins flopped himself over AJ, and this time Robinson was all too happy to count. Literally no one joined in. It was possibly the least celebrated end to a main event match in WWE history.

One.

Two.

Three.

"New champion!" Graves yelled in delight as Rollins music hit.

Bayley had already grabbed the WWE Championship belt from the timekeeper before the ring announcer even started announcing the winner, and joined the rest of her cartel teammates in running away from the ring, around the side of the entrance ramp. Bayley was also carrying her women's title, whereas Bobby and Joe had picked their tag team belts up from the floor outside the ring as they made their hurried exit.

"That was pathetic," Coach said. "Absolutely pathetic."

"Look at them running away, the whole group of them," Renee said venomously.

The shot changed to a camera backstage. The cartel came running through the curtain, led by Zelina, who was laughing, delighted with what had just transpired.

"That woman right there is nothing more than a parasite," Renee spat. "The lowest form of scum. How could anyone possibly see any kind of glory in what just happened here?"

"AJ Styles just got robbed," Coach agreed.

It had only been a short run to the parking garage for The Vega Cartel. Their bus was standing ready for them, with the door open.

Still laughing, Zelina lead the way onto the bus, with her underlings quickly following. Seth was last to enter the bus, now carrying his newly-won belt, as the logo signalling the end of the show appeared on the screen. The bus started moving as soon as he was through the door.

"There they go," Coach said.

"Seth Rollins didn't win the WWE title here tonight, The Vega Cartel stole it," Renee hissed. "They literally stole it from AJ Styles, and now they're fleeing like the robbers they are."

"Three out of three," Graves countered happily. "Whoever has the gold, has the power."


	26. Chapter 26

Zelina had made sure she was the last one to get on the bus when the time came to leave the arena after Fully Loaded. Even Elena had gone on-board before her. Standing next to Elena's seat, Zelina spoke to the group. "Guys, I have something I want to say to you all."

"What is it, boss?" Bobby asked in a lame attempt to make a kayfabe-related joke.

Looking around at them all, Zelina saw confused expressions, especially from Seth, who had no more idea than anyone else what this was about. Elena fired up the bus's engine, preparing to get them on the road. "I mean you as well, Daga," Zelina said. "Just give me a minute before we go anywhere."

"You okay?" Seth asked her with concern, while Elena turned around in her seat to pay attention.

"I'm great," Zelina assured him with a smile, before directing her attention back to the group as a whole. "Actually, that's kind of what I wanted to say to you all. You've all been so supportive of me, during what could have been a very difficult time. I was seriously nervous about playing a role where I was in charge of all you guys, with you all being so much more experienced than me, but you've all helped to make sure it's gone like a dream so far. I'm having the time of my life these past few weeks, and I can't think of a better group of people to work and travel with. That includes you, Daga, even if you are crazy."

Everyone laughed at that, then Elena said, "I think hot-tempered, yes? Crazy is a bit too far."

"Hot-tempered then," Zelina agreed with a grin. She turned to the rest of the guys again. "So, with all that being said, I wanted to thank you all for being so great with me. That's why dinner is on me tonight, for all six of us. Daga, find us a restaurant somewhere."

"Thank you, Zelina," Elena said, sounding genuinely touched that she was to be included in the free meal. She started tapping away at her phone. "I'll see what I can find. What kind of restaurant are we looking for?"

"Somewhere that serves Vegan options," Zelina said.

"And, if possible, somewhere that also had good steak," Seth added.

"Yes!" Joe agreed. "Thanks, Zelina. It's really sweet of you to do this for us."

"Yeah, thank you so much," Bayley said, sounding really touched.

"What they said," Bobby joined in. "You're the best, Zel."

"It's the least I can do," she said to them all as she walked over to sit down in her usual place, next to Seth.

"I love you, muñeca," he said quietly, putting an arm around her. "You really have a heart of gold. This is such a lovely thing to do for everyone."

"I love you, too," she said, cuddling up to him. "I was trying to think of a way to thank everyone, and that was all that came to mind. I hope it'll be a good night."

"I'm sure it will," Seth said, before adding a joke. "It's free food and beer, so how could it not be?"

"Oh, God. I'm going to have to carry you back to the bus, aren't I?"

"I'd love to see you try," Bobby said, laughing.

Half an hour later, Elena was struggling to park the bus in a corner of the lot at the restaurant she had found on her phone. The group had all quickly looked at the website and agreed that was the place to try. The restaurant wasn't over-priced, but it wasn't cheap. It was also in an area where the bus could be left in the lot without them expecting to come back and find its wheels missing.

"Finally," Elena said once she was happy with the parking.

"I don't know how you manage to drive this thing so well," Bayley said, standing next to her. "I have enough trouble parking a car."

"It comes with experience," Elena said with a smile. "If someone asks me to move it, maybe I won't smile so much." As was often the case, her use of English was slightly awkward, but it got the job done.

"Let's eat!" Joe said enthusiastically as they filed their way off the bus. "It's all on Zelina, so we can go wild."

"I hope he's joking," Zelina said to Seth. She imagined Joe could put away a small fortune in food himself if he committed himself to the task.

"Of course he is," Seth assured her as he followed her down the steps. "No one's going to take advantage."

"Let's just hope they have a table available for us. I probably should have said something earlier so that we could make a reservation. I wanted it to be a surprise, though."

"It'll be fine. They're not going to be full this late. It always surprises me the amount of places that open all hours."

"Right. Imagine working those shifts?"

The group had waited for Elena to get off the bus. Once she had joined them, they walked into the restaurant.

"Hi, guys," a young female server said pleasantly, approaching them as they entered.

"Hi," Zelina said with a smile. "Table for six, please."

"Six. Sure thing. Follow me, please."

Zelina saw that Seth had been right. The restaurant wasn't even half full. They were led to a table with no other diners close by. Perfect.

"I'll give you a minute, then I'll come back to get your drink orders."

"Thanks," Seth said.

They took their seats; Zelina opposite Seth, Bayley opposite Elena, and Joe opposite Bobby.

"This place looks okay," Seth said to Zelina, looking around. The decor and furniture were reasonably up to date, and the cleanliness seemed to be excellent.

"Yeah," she agreed. "And it hopefully won't put me in debt by the end of the night."

"We'll see about that," he grinned.

Seeing that everyone was settled in, the server returned for the drink orders. Zelina, Seth, Joe and Bobby all went for beer. Then it was Elena's turn to order. "Do you have champagne?"

"We do," the server was happy to confirm.

"Uh, Daga, can you go steady?" Zelina asked warily. She didn't want to be tight-fisted about her night out, but ordering champagne? That was pushing it.

"Oh, I'll pay for it," Elena said quickly. "I didn't intend you to pay for it. There's... something to celebrate."

Now Zelina guessed what might be going on, and she felt a bit bad for speaking up. Were Elena and Bayley about to come out to the group? Zelina had seen them talking discretely to each other on the way into the restaurant. The fact that Bayley's cheeks were reddening a bit seemed to confirm her suspision.

"What is it, your birthday, Daga?" Joe asked.

"Yeah, she's forty," Bobby quipped, drawing laughter from everyone. Bayley, although laughing, clearly couldn't believe he had the nerve to say that.

"Have you ever been run down by a bus, Bobby?" Elena asked, to more laughter. "No, it's not my birthday."

While Bobby and Joe tried in vain to probe for more information, Seth and Zelina started talking to each other again.

"I tried to let it go, but I have to ask, what did Hunter want when he asked me to leave earlier?"

Zelina smiled. "Of course you can ask. I didn't want you to leave anyway. It was about my contract. I think that's why Hunter asked you to leave, probably some HR requirement or something. I don't know. Anyway, what he said was, I'm coming up for review soon. He wanted to let me know I'm going to be offered a multi-year deal for more money."

"Congrats, muñeca," Seth said happily. "Not that there was any doubt, with the way you've been killing it."

"Thank you, baby. That's really kind of you."

The server arrived with the drinks, handing out the beers first. Then she put a champagne glass down in front of each person, and opened the bottle. "Would you like me to pour?" she asked Elena, who had ordered it.

"Uh, yes, please," the Italian said, seeming a bit surprised by the offer.

Shortly, everyone had a glass of champagne in front of them.

"So, what are we drinking to?" Seth asked after the server had left the table.

Zelina noticed Bayley's cheeks warming up again.

"We're drinking to the news I have," Elena said carefully. "Which is that Bayley and I are, uh, dating."

"Except this is kind of our first real date," Bayley giggled nervously, cheeks now bright red.

All at once, congratulations came from everyone in the group. If either member of the new couple had feared judgement or homophobia, their fears had been unfounded.

"Thank you, guys," Bayley said, wiping her eyes while trying, and failing, to make it look like she hadn't teared up. "We've only just started seeing each other, obviously, but we figured you guys would catch on soon enough. Like Seth and Zelina when we first got the bus, we wanted to be open with you rather than have questions being asked behind our backs."

"There's only one problem I have with all of this," Bobby said thoughtfully.

Zelina had no clue what he was thinking, but she hoped he wasn't about to upset the girls. That would ruin the meal and the atmosphere on the bus.

"What?" Elena asked him cautiously.

"I'm left with him!" Bobby said, pointing at Joe. Everyone burst out laughing again.

"Not a chance," Joe said through his laughter. "We'll have to either get our wives on tour with us, or we can find some hookers."

"Joe!" Zelina exclaimed as she laughed incredulously.

"A man has needs," Joe protested, still joking, with everyone else still laughing.

"Yeah, and a man has hands," Seth said, producing a chorus of disgusted groans.

"Seth!" Zelina exclaimed.

"Ohhh! Now he's in trouble," Bobby said, drawing yet more laughter.

Zelina couldn't have been happier. Everyone was having a great time, even before the drinking had begun. And Elena and Bayley had come out about their relationship, and had been readily accepted by everyone. She felt so pleased for them. They were both great people, and would make a fantastic couple. Their personalities were almost totally opposite, but that made some couples work perfectly.

* * *

An hour and a half later, the group were back on the bus, all feeling stuffed from the delicious food that the restaurant had served, and, apart from Elena, slightly buzzed from the champagne and beer. Their driver had restricted herself to one glass of champagne, with which she had joined in with the toast Joe had proposed: to Daga and Bayley.

The meal hadn't even kicked too much of a hole in Zelina's bank balance. She felt so glad that she had decided to treat everyone, and that they now understood the depth of the gratitude she felt towards all of them for how pain-free they had made her first major run on the main roster.

After a truly wonderful evening, Zelina whispered in Seth's ear that she felt like going straight to bed, before Elena even had the bus's engine running.

"Okay, goodnight, everyone," Seth said immediately, stifling a yawn.

The others all wished them goodnight as Zelina led the way to the back of the bus. Within a couple of minutes, they were under the covers, with Zelina lying with her back to Seth, his arm around her stomach. It was her favourite position to sleep in.

"That was so nice of you tonight, muñeca. I know the guys all had a great time."

"I'm glad," Zelina said contentedly. "I meant what I said earlier. They've all been nothing but great to me, when it really might not have gone that way. I'm so blessed to have such great friends, so much going right for me at work, and most of all, I'm blessed to have you. I love you so much, Seth."

Seth kissed the back of her head gently and held her a little tighter. "I love you, too. I've never felt this happy with anyone before, not even close."

"Mmm, me either," she said faintly as sleep approached.

By now, Seth was used to the fact that Zelina was one of those people who could get off to sleep within moments of her head hitting a pillow, especially when she had beer in her. Sure enough, he could soon tell by the sound of her breathing that she was asleep.

Closing his eyes, he figured that there had been worse days. He had won the WWE Championship, his teammates had all also won titles, he had enjoyed a night out eating good food with great company, and he was ending the night lying with the love of his life in his arms. Zelina had said she was blessed. She wasn't the only one.


	27. Chapter 27

It seemed that being summoned to Hunter's office was becoming a regular thing for Seth and Zelina. This time, the summons had at least applied to all of the members of The Vega Cartel.

"Come in, guys," Hunter said in a friendly manner as Zelina led them into the office, using the invite as a greeting.

"We might as well start changing in here," Seth said as a joke. "Seems like we're in here every show."

Hunter smiled his appreciation of the humour, then said, "It won't take long this time. I just have a few things I wanted to show you all. Thanks to the guys over at WWE Shop, The Vega Cartel now have merchandise. And I think you're going to like what they've come up with."

"Awesome!" Bayley said excitedly. "I was hoping we were going to get merch soon."

"I bet you were," Bobby said with a laugh. "Your heel turn must have cost you a fortune."

Hunter smiled again, and there was some brief laughter from the others. "You know that's not what I meant," Bayley said, rolling her eyes.

"With a bit of luck, you'll all make a bit from these," Hunter said, picking up the first of a stack of four shirts from his desk.

All Zelina see by looking at the pile was that three of them were black, the other one dark grey. With the way that had been folded and placed on the desk, she couldn't see the designs.

"What do you think?" Hunter asked as he unfurled the shirt he had picked up and held it up to show them all.

Zelina was stunned for a second. Sometimes the quality of WWE merchandise wasn't exactly the best, but she thought this one looked very good. The Vega Cartel was written on the chest area of the shirt in the familiar gold lettering, all in capitals. Below that, there was a picture consisting of the four wrestlers on the team standing behind Zelina, in the pose that they adopted at the top of the entrance ramp as part of their entrance routine.

"That's sick," Bobby said, using one of his favourite expressions.

"I love it," Bayley said next.

"Me too," Zelina added.

As Joe and Seth also expressed their happiness with the shirt, Hunter turned it around to show them the back. It had the word Vega in the gold lettering near the top, then further down was the simple catchphrase she had coined: Watch us.

"Very nice," Seth said, nodding.

"What are the others?" Joe asked.

Hunter put the first shirt untidily back on the desk and picked up the grey one. "This is the same design, but on a grey shirt." He held it up to show them.

"I like the black one more," Bobby said, to general agreement.

"It's good to give people the option, though," Seth said. "Not everyone likes wearing black."

"The main thing is the design work is good," Joe said.

Once he was happy that they had all had a look, Hunter put the second shirt back on the desk. "Now, the other two are a different design." He picked up the third shirt from the desk and held it up.

"Woah!" Zelina exclaimed, taken by surprise. As a background image, the shirt had a picture of her face, wearing a stern expression befitting her character. Over the top of the image, in the same gold lettering, again in capitals, were the words: I'm a Zelina Vega guy.

"Oh, Zelina, I love that!" Bayley said, putting an arm around her and giving her a squeeze.

"I agree. That's amazing," Seth said.

Hunter said, "I'm glad you think that, Seth because this one is yours."

Zelina joined in with everyone else in laughing at the boss's joke while Seth took the shirt and put it on over the top of the one he was wearing. "How do I look?" he asked, spreading his arms, smiling broadly.

"Perfect," Zelina told him, giggling.

While that was going on, Hunter had picked up the final shirt. "Lastly, we have the same design, but for Zelina Vega girls."

"Oh, gimme!" Bayley said, quickly taking it from him and putting it on. Seth walked over to join her, and they stood side by side in their Zelina Vega shirts.

"That's a marketing image right there," Bobby said.

Hunter clicked his fingers in approval. "Good shout. I'll setup a shoot later tonight. We'll have the two of you in those shirts. Bobby, Joe, and Zelina, you can model the others."

"Give Zelina the grey one," Seth suggested. "She'll be able to make it look good."

Before Zelina could think of a response, Bobby chirped up. "If you want it to look good, you should give it to me."

"Hmm. Or maybe I should cancel the photo shoot and send you for a piss test instead. It sounds like you're on some powerful drugs to me," Hunter said deadpan.

After everyone had a good laugh, the boss sent them on their way.

* * *

Tuesday Night Smackdown – 1st May 2018

The Vega Cartel's music hit to begin the episode, launching the crowd into aggressive boos. The results of the Fully Loaded pay-per-view had gotten them even more heat, making them among the most hated people in WWE. Zelina was fast approaching the point where she could claim the top spot for herself, as emphasised by the venom that greeted her when she walked out onto the stage ahead of her team, who were all wearing championship gold.

"Welcome to Tuesday Night Smackdown everyone. I'm Renee Young, alongside Jonathan Coachman and Corey Graves."

"Here come The Vega Cartel," Coach said. "Renee, I know you'll agree when I say I was a long way from impressed with the way the cartel went about their business Sunday night at Fully Loaded."

"I was appalled by it," Renee said acidly. "Bayley blatantly cheated to win the Women's Championship from Carmella. She had both fists full of Carmella's tights, yet the referee somehow missed it."

"Stop whining, Renee," Graves said as the cartel posed at the top of the entrance ramp, with Zelina standing in front of the rest of the team. "What a sight that is," he gushed. "I don't think I've ever seen anything as impressive as that in my life. Samoa Joe and Bobby Roode, the Smackdown Tag Team Champions. Bayley, the Smackdown Women's Champion. Seth Rollins, the WWE Champion. And in front of them, the woman who masterminded it all, Zelina Vega."

"Oh, Vega masterminded it alright," Renee said. "AJ Styles had Rollins beaten twice. The first time, Zelina pulled the referee out of the ring. The second time, referee Charles Robinson refused to count the three. Clearly, he was in Vega's pocket. It was a travesty. It was robbery."

"I'm certainly looking forward to hearing what Stephanie McMahon, our commissioner, is going to do about it," Coach said.

"Stephanie should be more worried about how long she can last in the job," Graves shot back. "Zelina said she plans to take over Smackdown, and she's certainly not made a bad start. You remember what she said a couple of weeks ago: Whoever has the gold, has the power."

The cartel were now in the ring, and Bayley had fetched a microphone for their leader, who was looking around at the fans with a smug expression on her face. When the team's music faded out, another volley of boos and abuse rained down on the ring. Zelina waited for them to settle down, still with the same expression on her face. Eventually, she was able to speak.

"And when Alexander saw the breadth of his domain, he wept, for there were no more worlds to conquer." During the final part of the quote, she had turned to face all of her champions.

"Wow," Graves said as the fans booed her again.

"I told you," Zelina went on, patronising the audience. "I told you all exactly what would happen, but you didn't want to believe me. I guess you're believers now, because The Vega Cartel stand here before you, every one of them wearing championship gold. Here we have Samoa Joe and Bobby Roode, who handed the Bludgeon Brothers their first defeat at Fully Loaded."

She paused while the new champions raised their belts in arrogant triumph, rubbing it in the faces of the crowd.

"Then we have Bayley, who achieved something very special Sunday night. She completed the Triple Crown, by winning the Smackdown Women's Championship from Carmella."

"Stealing," Renee corrected while Bayley held up her belt, drawing more animosity. "Not winning, stealing."

"And last, but definitely not least, Seth Rollins," Zelina went on, standing in front of Seth. The boos rose to fever pitch. "The new WWE Champion, who defeated AJ Styles right in the middle of the ring."

"Oh, please," Renee groaned, as if she was about to throw up.

"Yes," Zelina said, "Fully Loaded, as predicted, was a great night for The Vega Cartel. However, when I watched the footage back later that night on the WWE Network, there was one thing that caught my attention; one thing that stuck in my throat; one thing that I took serious exception to. Actually, it wasn't a thing at all, it was one person. Renee Young," she said with a harsh edge to her voice, rounding in the direction of the commentary table.

"Uh oh. Now you're in trouble, Renee," Graves said, not hiding the fact that he took pleasure in it.

Zelina exited the ring in front of the commentary position, an angry expression on her face. "What I took exception to was you, Renee, referring to me as a parasite."

Renee was shown looking a little intimidated, but definitely not regretful over the word she had chosen to use.

"Stand up when I'm taking to you!" Zelina shouted, now standing right in front of the table.

Reluctantly, Renee obeyed. The crowd didn't exactly help her, breaking out into a chant of, "Parasite."

Livid, Zelina glared around at them while they chanted. "You called me that, Renee," she growled eventually. "And you described me as the lowest form of scum."

"Yeah, I did," Renee said, showing considerable courage, for a commentator.

Zelina nodded for a second, contemplating what seemed to her like even more insolence. Suddenly, she lashed out, slapping Renee hard across the face. The sound of the slap was clearly heard in the arena, inciting the ire of the fans once more. As Renee's head had snapped around with the impact, her headset had flown off. She stood there holding her cheek, looking shocked to have been struck like that.

"Come on, Renee," Zelina challenged her. "You want to do something about it? I'll show you what a parasite I can be."

"I think you'd better sit down," Coach urged his broadcast colleague. Taking his advice, Renee took her seat, still holding her cheek, glaring up at Zelina.

"Just what I thought," Zelina said, sneering at her. "And get that look off your face before I come back there and slap it off for you."

Renee looked down, trying to untangle her headset so that she could put it back on. That seemed to be enough for Zelina, who turned around to make her way back into the ring. The rest of the cartel were shown laughing and joking with each other about how the commentator had just been put in her place.

After some fumbling sounds, Renee came back on the air, sounding angry as much as upset. "You guys can call the rest of this segment. I have nothing to say."

"Sorry was one thing you could have said," Graves said smugly.

"I have nothing to say."

Zelina apparently did have more to say, but she didn't get the chance. She had only just gotten back into the ring when Stephanie McMahon's music hit. The commissioner got quite a generous ovation. For the first time since her face turn had begun, it really seemed to be having an effect. Playing her off against the cartel was working.

"That's quite enough from you, Vega," Stephanie said over the top of her music as she walked onto the stage. The music quickly faded out. "Who the hell do you think you are you, hitting Renee like that?"

"I'm Zelina Vega, that's who the hell I am," she fired back. "I'm the woman who effectively controls this place. Whoever has the gold, has the power, McMahon, and I have the gold. You have nothing, Stephanie. Nothing. I bet I could walk up there right now, punch you square in the face, and you'd do exactly nothing about it."

"Oh, if you come up here and try and hit me, I'll do plenty about it," Stephanie promised her, to cheers from the fans. "But you're not going to do that, are you? All you do is run your mouth, or bully people. Well, I've had enough of it, and you're certainly not going to bully me. You stand down there talking about how having the gold gives you the power, but that's simply not true, is it? Because the basic fact is, I still have the power to make matches around here, and that's exactly what I'm going to do right now."

Zelina was shown asking Seth what Stephanie was talking about, now seeming a little concerned.

"The Vega Cartel might have won three championships at Fully Loaded, but you cheated to win two of them. If you think I'm going to let that slide, Zelina, you're living on a different planet. Firstly, I'll deal with you, Bayley. You were clearly holding Carmella's tights when you pinned her and 'won' the Smackdown Women's Championship. For that reason, I've decided to grant Carmella the rematch she's entitled to, and she'll get it tonight!"

While the fans cheered, Bayley started pleading her case to Zelina, saying that the decision wasn't fair.

"Then we come to you, Seth Rollins," Stephanie said, quickly moving on. "The way you became WWE Champion, well, I've never seen anything so embarrassing. I don't know how you can even walk out here with that belt without feeling ashamed. But I'm here to tell you now that after the way your match ended at Fully Loaded, I have taken decisive action to put things right."

"Decisive action?" Graves asked. "I don't like the sound of that."

"Earlier tonight," Stephanie went on, "I fired referee Charles Robinson with immediate effect for gross misconduct. I know he was in your pocket, Vega, but he's not there anymore. Now he's gone."

Zelina was shown shrugging indifferently. Those with the ability to lip read could make out that she said to Seth, "He already served his purpose."

"Then I had AJ Styles come into my office," Stephanie said. "He was so angry, I thought he might do something reckless tonight, so I gave him the night off and sent him back to the hotel."

Some of the crowd booed that announcement, while Seth and Zelina greeted it with laughter.

"Yeah, you have a good laugh," Stephanie told them. "Let's see how funny you think this is: Before AJ left, I made him a little promise. That promise was that next week on Smackdown, it will be Seth Rollins versus AJ Styles, and the WWE Championship will be on the line. And to make sure we don't get a repeat of what we saw at Fully Loaded, this match will take place inside a steel cage!"

The fans cheered that announcement loudly, while the cartel all raged at Stephanie, who was swiftly making her way off the stage with her music playing. Zelina looked particularly furious.

"Rollins – Styles, next week, in a steel cage!" Coach reiterated. "What a huge announcement by Stephanie McMahon! Zelina Vega thought she had everything under control after Fully Loaded, but Stephanie isn't going to take it lying down. She's still the commissioner of Smackdown, and that means she can still make whatever matches he wants."

"This is going to mean all-out war," Graves cut in. "You talk about McMahon not taking things lying down? Do you really think Zelina Vega is going to take what McMahon just did lying down? It's only a matter of time before the lid comes off this thing."

"That's not how I see it at all," Renee said, deciding to join in at last. "Stephanie did nothing inappropriate at all. Carmella is entitled to a rematch, and she's going to get one tonight. What I'd really like to see is Stephanie put Vega in a match. She overdue what's coming to her."

"How's your cheek, Renee?" Graves asked. "It's looks quite red. Keep talking like that, Zelina will come back over here and give you one to match on the other side."

"The Vega Cartel looking less than happy as they leave the ring," Coach said, trying to get back on track. "Bayley meets Carmella tonight, in a rematch for the Smackdown Women's Championship."

* * *

Just prior to the Women's Championship match, Zelina and Bayley were shown walking backstage, making their way to Gorilla. Bayley was trying to look confident about the contest that was at hand, while Zelina looked like she was in a nasty mood. Stephanie's actions earlier in the night had seen to that.

"Zelina! Zelina!" Dasha Fuentes called out as she approached them. "You're about to lead Bayley out to the ring to face Carmella for the Smackdown Women's Championship. Earlier tonight, Stephanie McMahon accused Bayley of cheating to win at Fully Loaded. Will we see a fair contest tonight?"

"Who cares what Stephanie McMahon thinks?" Zelina demanded objectionably. "She should concentrate on enjoying her precious job while she still has it, because take it from me, she won't be around for long. I meant what I said when I promised to take over this show. I have all of the major championships on this show under my control. Once my people win the ridiculous rematches McMahon made earlier, her position will be untenable. It's because of her incompetence and negligence that my cartel were able to do what we've done so quickly. Stephanie has proven she can't run this show; she can't even get along with her general manager. Daniel Bryan doesn't want her here, and neither do any of the superstars who supposedly work for her. It's time for the WWE board of directors to consider a motion of no confidence in her, which I believe she would lose. Once they force her to step down, I will put my name forward as her natural successor."

Dasha raised her eyebrows in response to that rant, while Zelina finally took a breath.

"As for your question about the upcoming match, no, there will not be any cheating tonight, and there will be no outside interference. Bayley will wrestle Carmella one on one, and she will walk out carrying her title. Watch her."

With that, Bayley and Zelina marched away.

* * *

"The Mella Buster!" Renee called out as Carmella hit the move on Bayley. After having the advantage for the majority of the contest, there was a real possibility of the former champion taking back her title belt with that move. "Carmella into the cover!"

"One!"

"Two!"

Bayley kicked out at the last possible moment, so close that some of the fans even counted three.

"Was that three?" Renee asked loudly.

"No. Two. The referee says two," Graves said.

Zelina was shown on the outside, hands over her mouth in great relief.

"Vega looks like she almost had a heart attack right there," Coach said.

"Bayley doing the wise thing and rolling to the outside," Renee had to admit as the champion flopped to the floor. "Carmella's going to have to get her back in the ring if she wants to win the title."

Zelina was shown again, moving around the ring to stay away from the action.

Graves said, "Just like she promised earlier, Zelina isn't getting involved. You can't argue with that, Renee."

"No, I can't. Not yet, anyway."

Frustrated at not getting the win with her finisher, Carmella followed Bayley out of the ring. The champion looked beaten, lying flat on her back. When she saw Carmella coming after her, she was only able to try and crawl away, holding her hands up defensively.

"Carmella's got Bayley right where she wants her," Coach said.

Just as he finished the sentence, Carmella bent down to drag Bayley back to her feet, but it became apparent that the devious heel had been playing possum. She grabbed hold of Carmella and pulled her down, slamming her face into the steel ring steps.

"Oh! Carmella got sucked in by Bayley!" Renee called out. "The Princess of Staten Island could be out cold."

"The referee is already at a count of four," Coach pointed out.

"Come on, Bayley, get up," Graves urged.

From the other side of the ring, Zelina was doing the same, shouting loudly at her underling.

In the ring, the referee was counting both women out, with the crowd predictably shouting ten for each count. Noting that, Renee decided to give the correct count for the audience.

"Six."

"Seven."

"Eight."

"Both women starting to stir," Coach said.

"Nine."

Bayley and Carmella both got to their feet at the same time. The challenger ran into the ring to beat the count. Bayley also ran, but at the last moment she slammed her hands onto the ring apron and stopped herself, thinking better of it. Looking right at her, the referee counted ten.

"Wait a minute!" Renee objected as the bell rang. "Bayley didn't get back in the ring!"

"Brilliant!" Graves exclaimed, realising what had happened.

Zelina was shown smiling in delight and tapping the side of her head in the gesture usually used when someone had been outsmarted.

"Zelina's right," Graves said. "Bayley just outthought Carmella."

Ring announcer Greg Hamilton made his announcement: "Here is your winner, by count out, Carmella! However, still the Smackdown Women's Champion, Bayley!"

Lying in the ring, Carmella had her face buried in her hands, distraught that her rematch was over without her winning the title back. The referee had already handed the belt to Bayley, and she and Zelina were beating a hasty retreat, with Vega laughing about the way the match had ended.

Graves said, "Just like Zelina Vega promised, there was no interference, no cheating, and Bayley is walking out still the Smackdown Women's Champion."

"More underhanded tactics from The Vega Cartel," Renee said heatedly.

"At least we won't be seeing that next week, when Seth Rollins meets AJ Styles inside a steel cage," Coach said.

"I wouldn't bet on it," Renee scoffed. "With Vega around, anything is possible."

To end the segment Bayley and Zelina were shown celebrating with their arms raised on the stage, Bayley holding her belt in her right hand, as Graves said, "All I know is that woman right there is still your Smackdown Women's Champion. Congratulations, Bayley."


	28. Chapter 28

David Hernandez had no idea that he was fuelling his own obsession, sending himself spiralling into a pit of severe mental instability. When he had first spotted his ex-girlfriend Zelina Vega on TV in the bar that night, he had resolved himself to get back with her for the money he had assumed she had as much as anything else. But now, it was way, way beyond that. He was now at the point where he spent every waking moment thinking about her. He had never seen anyone so stunning in his life. In every way, she was perfect.

"Fucking beautiful," he muttered to himself after printing out one of the new pictures he had found of her online. New ones were few and far between at this point, since he already had so many. Sometimes she would even post videos. They were always a special treat, as were Tuesday nights, when the wrestling show was on. For three hours, he would sit there not daring to leave the room in case she was in the next segment of the show and he missed some of it.

David held the latest picture for a moment, just enjoying looking at it. Zelina was posing just after getting her makeup done, according to the caption she had written on her Instagram. Whoever did that job for WWE was incredibly talented, he thought. They made his chiquita look so far beyond amazing. It made his chest hurt and his stomach feel weird, such was his desire for her.

With a happy sigh, David lifted himself out of his chair slightly. He picked up a pin from the desk and used it to fix the picture to the wall, in an empty space among all the others. There wasn't much room left on that wall now; he would soon have to go around the corner onto the second one.

David returned his attention to the shitty second hand computer. That and the decent printer, which had been essential, had cost him all of his paltry savings, but boy had they been worthwhile purchases. He would soon save the money back anyway, since he didn't go to the bar after work anymore. Why would he, when he could hurry home and see what new Zelina stuff he could find online. There was no better way to spend the evenings. It had taken him a while to learn how to do some things, like download pictures from Instagram, but he was getting a handle on it all now.

As he began scrolling through images he already had, looking for something else that might be new to him, he found himself thinking that it was so frustrating that he had once been with the sexiest woman in the world, only for her to leave him. He really shouldn't have let that happen. It had been a big, big mistake. But mistakes could be rectified. All he needed was the chance to sit down and talk to her, maybe over dinner, and he felt sure that she would be his again.

But there was the problem. That fucking Rollins guy was in the picture. Somehow, none of the moronic wrestling fans out there seemed to have figured out what was so obvious: Seth Rollins was banging Zelina Vega. All you had to do was see them together and it was blatant.

"Fucking asshole," David growled, pictured Seth's smug fucking face, with his stupid long hair and his scruffy beard. Chiquita was way too good for that weasel-looking piece of shit. And it was him that was behind the restraining orders, too. It had to be. He was obviously one of the big shots in WWE, which was probably how he had managed to land chiquita in the first place. Using his influence, Rollins had to have leaned on the company to apply for the restraining orders. He was just trying to keep Zelina for himself, that was all it was about. He probably knew that she didn't really love him and felt insecure about it.

But, unfair or not, the restraining orders were in place, and that gave David a big problem, that he so far hadn't found a solution to. How to get the chance to speak to chiquita without getting arrested and sent back to jail? Then it hit him. Since Rollins was the one behind the restraining orders, what he had to was find a way to talk to chiquita without Rollins there with her. That was where his previous two attempts had gone wrong, he realised. Rollins had been sitting beside her at the meet and greet in Pittsburgh, and had started getting aggressive as soon as Zelina had recognised him. The same thing had happened outside of the hotel the other week. Rollins had come barrelling through the crowd of fans, trying to kick off.

"Yes, get him out of the picture," David muttered to himself, happy with the idea now that it had come to him. But how to do it? Rollins and Zelina obviously travelled everywhere together, since they worked the same shows. What about when they had time off? Did they live together? He had no idea. Since the relationship apparently wasn't public knowledge, logic suggested it was in its early stages, so they probably didn't live together.

Frustrated, he realised that Zelina and Rollins might not live together, but they would probably stay at each other's places nonetheless. "Fuck's sake!" he raged, resisting the temptation to kick the computer. Why did things have to be so fucking difficult? All he wanted to do was talk to the bitch!

Taking a moment to try and calm down, David told himself to think logically. There would be a time when the two of them were not together. There had to be. No couple spent their entire fucking lives together, did they? A few moments later, inspiration struck. Maybe Rollins sometimes had to do appearances or meet and greets by himself, or with other members of the group they called The Vega Cartel? It was worth searching up, at least.

David loaded up the main Google page and typed in: Seth Rollins appearance 2018.

After reading only the first few search results, he saw that he might have struck gold. The title of the story in question was: WWE Champion Seth Rollins to appear on the Today show on May 10th. Clicking on the link, David read the article and saw no mention of Zelina's name anywhere. All that was mentioned was that Rollins would be live in the studio in New York to talk about his second run as WWE Champion.

"Perfect," David decided. The Today show was an early morning thing, so Rollins would have to be staying in New York the night before. That Wednesday night, chiquita wouldn't be with him. There obviously wouldn't be any WWE show, or Rollins would have been there. So, she would likely be home. All that was well and good, but where was home for her now? He had no idea, and he didn't know how to find out. At a loss, he decided to start by simply typing into Google: Where does Zelina Vega live?

The first group of results provided nothing of interest. Telling him she was from New York didn't answer the fucking question he had asked. Who programmed these stupid websites?

Then, on page two of the results, he saw something interesting. It was an article from almost a year ago. The title was: Official: WWE sign Zelina Vega. He could see in the short preview of the page's content that it referenced her being sent to something called the WWE Performance Center in Orlando for training.

"Orlando, huh?" he mumbled to himself. If she had been sent there for training, it seemed logical that she would have rented or bought a place down there. Would she have moved again since? There was no way to tell.

His next step was another search, using her full name: Zelina Rosita Vega, Orlando.

"You never know," he told himself, assuming that the search probably wouldn't produce anything of interest. When the search results appeared, his eyed widened in surprise. The very top one was unbelievable.

'View records on one person named Zelina Vega living in Orlando, Florida.'

"No fucking way," David breathed, feeling his heart start beating faster. There was only one person living in Orlando called Zelina Vega. Surely that had to be her, then? It was lucky she had such an uncommon name. He clicked the link and read the information on the page that came up.

'Zelina R Vega. Age: 20's. Lives in: Orlando, FL (eastern Orlando).'

Chiquita was twenty seven, David knew. And this person also had the same middle initial. It just had to be her. There was a box below the brief description with the words, 'Show Details.'

"How is it this easy to find someone?" he said in disbelief. Zelina's full address was right there on the screen in front of him. There was even an option to click to show the address straight on Google Maps. David clicked it.

"So, that's where you live, huh?" he mumbled under his breath. He was looking at an unremarkable but not unpleasant residential street, like millions of others in the country. He switched to street view to get a better look at the house. It looked like a two or three bedroom place, relatively recently built, with a short driveway leading to an attached garage. Definitely a rental property, he thought. You could tell just by looking at it. Honestly, he was surprised she didn't live somewhere better, but it was a lot better than what he had, there was no way of getting around that.

David sat there looking at the house for a while, imagining chiquita going about her daily routine in there. It was a daily routine that he should be a part of. They could live in that house quite happily together. Most of the time, the weather would be nice in Orlando, too. All that remained was to make chiquita come to her senses and leave Rollins for him.

The plan was decided. He would drive down to Orlando, go to her house on that night when he knew Rollins wouldn't be there, and one way or another, they would have the talk that was so long overdue. But there was still a problem. For some reason, chiquita kept acting strange when she saw him; like she was scared of him. That was probably Rollins' fault. He was probably one of those guys who got insecure about his girl talking to other men. She probably feared him losing his temper if he saw her talking to her ex. What a scumbag. She had even run away both times David had seen her.

"No running this time, chiquita," he said, looking up at the pictures on the wall. "One way or another, I'm going to say what I want to say. You're going to listen, and you're going to be mine."

Hell, he thought, looking at the image of the house on the screen again, judging by the relatively cheap-looking front door her place had, he could get in there easily enough even if she decided to be awkward and not open the door to him. It was surprising that more people didn't realise how easy it actually was to pick a lock, and how insecure that made their homes. Well, although it had been a while since he had done it, David was good at picking locks. In any case, he had a week to practice to get his skills back to where they used to be.

With a satisfied smile, David navigated back to the page that showed Zelina's address. Grabbing a scrap of paper and a pen, he scribbled it down. It really was remarkable, he thought, shaking his head. The drive from New York down to Orlando would be a bastard, but it would be worth it. Man, it would be worth it. He could even get directions on his phone, right from his door to hers. Better to head down on the Tuesday, he thought. It would give him a bit of time to scope the place out, and presumably see her arrive home from whatever town the wrestling show was in on the Tuesday night.

Nodding, David said, "That's the plan. Roll on next Wednesday!"


	29. Chapter 29

_Tuesday Night Smackdown – May 8th 2018_

Earlier in the show, Stephanie McMahon had added a stipulation to the cage match between AJ Styles and Seth Rollins for the WWE Championship. The winner would be the first person to escape the cage. There would be no pinfalls, no submissions, and no disqualifications. One way or another, there had to be a definite winner. Stephanie had cited the cowardly way that Bayley had retained her Smackdown Women's Championship by deliberately losing by count out the previous week as the reason.

When AJ was able to deliver a top rope superplex to Seth, the first real chance for one of the competitors to win the match was at hand.

"Both men have put so much into this contest, but Styles is crawling for the door," Renee said. "All he's got to do is get out of the cage and touch the floor with both feet, and he will regain the WWE Championship that he never lost."

"Well, he did lose it. Seth Rollins is the WWE Champion," Graves pointed out sarcastically.

"You know very well what I mean," Renee fired back. "Zelina Vega and her cartel stole the title from AJ at Fully Loaded."

"Speaking of Vega," Coach said as she was shown on the screen standing at ringside, in front of the commentary table, looking very concerned with how the match was proceeding inside the cage, where she could do nothing about it other than shout encouragement to Seth. "She looks very worried to me. Styles is halfway to the door."

Seeing what AJ's intention was, the referee went over and opened the door, then stood in perfect position to make the decisive call if Styles managed to touch the floor with his feet.

When AJ made it to the ropes near the door, Seth was only just starting to stir.

"Get up, Seth!" Zelina screamed, frantically grabbing hold of the cage.

It was obvious that Rollins wasn't going to catch AJ in time. Walking around the corner of the ring, Zelina looked towards the door in panic. Her man, her cartel, were about to lose the WWE Championship.

The noise in the crowd rose when Zelina started marching towards the door. They knew she was going to do something, and were trying to warn AJ.

"Watch Vega," Coach said in a warning of his own.

Neither the crowd nor commentator were able to alert Styles to the danger. As he started to climb through the ropes and stuck his head out of the door opening, Zelina grabbed hold of the door itself and slammed it shut as hard as she could.

"Damn it!" Renee yelled as the crowd groaned their disappointment. After a few seconds, they began to vent their anger at Zelina, booing loudly. "Vega just slammed the cage door on AJ's head! He could be out cold!"

"Get away from there!" the referee could be heard shouting at her angrily.

Holding her hands up in a protestation of innocence, Zelina walked back around the ring towards the commentary table.

"Renee, sit down," Graves said, before the audience had a chance to see what was going on.

"What the hell was that?" Renee shouted, still wearing her headset. The shot changed to show the fact that she was on her feet, remonstrating with Zelina as she walked around to that side of the ring. "AJ had Rollins beaten, again! Why can't you just stay out of it, Vega?"

"Renee," Coach said, urging her to calm down.

"Who do you think you're shouting at?" Zelina demanded as she approached the table, reacting heatedly to aggression being shown towards her, especially by a commentator.

"I'm shouting at you! I'm sick of seeing you cheating all the time! You and your cartel are just pathetic bunch of cheats and cowards!"

The look of fury on Zelina's face had to be seen to be believed. By now, most of the fans were focused on the drama unfolding at the commentary table and were cheering Renee on.

"Get out of my face and sit down, before I put you down!" Zelina shouted in Renee's face.

This time, Renee was too angry to back down. She shouted right back at Zelina: "Why don't you get out my face? Go crawl back into whatever hole in the ground you come from every Tuesday, parasite!"

There wasn't even a pause before Zelina reacted, shoving Renee hard in the chest, sending her flying back onto her chair, which then tipped over backwards with her momentum, leaving her a crumpled mess on the floor, up against the barricade.

Satisfied, Zelina stood there for a second with a cocky expression on her face, indifferent to the boos and abuse that were raining down on her from the stands.

"Renee, are you okay?" Coach asked, leaning down to check on her.

As Zelina turned around and stepped closer to the cage to resume watching the match, Graves was left to carry the commentary. "We've got Renee Young down out here behind the commentary table, and we've got Seth Rollins taking it to AJ Styles in the ring. Yes, there is still a match going on."

"Are you okay?" Coach's voice again, obviously talking to Renee.

The shot changed to show the commentary table again. Renee was on her feet now, looking dishevelled, and seriously pissed off. She had her headset in her hand, having picked it up from the floor, but rather than putting it back on, she slammed it into the commentary table in a gesture of pure anger.

Seeing that, the crowd realised that Renee had literally been pushed too far by Zelina this time. They started going crazy as Young stormed around the back of Coach's chair. It was obvious where she was heading.

"What's she doing?" Graves demanded.

Oblivious to anything going on behind her, Zelina was still standing in front of the commentary table, next to the cage, focused on the match.

Young rushed at Vega from behind, grabbed the back of her head and slammed it into the steel cage. The reaction she got from the crowd sounded like she had just won a championship.

As she hit the cage and went down to the floor, Zelina knew this was the moment she had to sell this rivalry if it was going to amount to anything. She had to put Renee's attack over. Pleasingly, Vince had agreed, and had instructed that a small blood capsule was to be passed to her by Coach. The handover had gone like a dream, while the ringside cameraman had been showing Renee sprawled on the floor.

Lying face down, under cover of holding her head in pain, Zelina went to work with the blood capsule while Renee added insult to injury with a mouthful of furious abuse.

The sight of Renee Young standing over a fallen Zelina Vega was apparently nectar to the fans. The roof had almost come off the place at the initial attack, and it now sounded like every single one of them was chanting, "Yes!"

Happy that she had done the best she could to make it look the right side of her forehead was cut open, Zelina rolled over onto her back, looking up at Renee with a look of total shock on her face and even some fear in her eyes.

At the sight of the blood, the fans erupted again. They were delighting in what had been done to the evil bitch Zelina Vega.

Zelina was happy to see that Renee was also playing her part well. She stood there looking down with an expression that said, "There's more where that came from."

Selling it even more, Zelina raised a hand slowly in a defensive manner.

Then, as had been planned, a bunch of backstage personnel came running onto the scene. Some of them started shepherding Renee away, escorting her to the back, while others acted the part of helping Zelina up and leading her to the back also, around the opposite side of the ring.

It was music to Zelina's ears when another chant broke out. "You deserve it!" was soon reverberating around the arena. They really despised her. That was great, both for her and for the rivalry with Renee. Once the match was made, they would be desperately hoping to see something like what had just happened, or even worse, from a Vega point of view.

Shortly, Zelina had been led around the side of the entrance ramp and the stage, then through the curtain to the back. Renee was there waiting, and so was TJ Wilson, the road agent for their rivalry, with a damp towel to get the fake blood off her face. It was a nice touch on his part. The guys who had walked her to the back quickly disappeared.

"Great job, Zelina," TJ said as he stepped forward. "You sold that really well."

"Thanks," she replied, meaning for the compliment and the towel, which he had just started to put to use.

"Are you okay, Zelina?" Renee asked with some nervousness.

"Fine," Zelina assured her pleasantly. "Relax, you did a great job out there."

"Thank you, Zelina, seriously. You were amazing, making me look like a legitimate threat out there. The look on your face was priceless."

"Let's hope it's going all over Twitter," Zelina said as TJ finished his towel work. "Thanks, TJ."

"You got it," he said.

With that, the three of them walked off, heading in the direction of the locker rooms and Gorilla. They chatted about what they thought the writing team might have happen in their rivalry on the next episode, before they passed by Gorilla and Zelina said she would wait there for Seth. His music was playing in the arena; the cage match having just ended.

A couple of minutes later, he came walking through Gorilla, carrying his title belt. The way he smiled when he saw Zelina made her stomach flutter. Only true love made someone smile like that when they saw you.

"Hey," Seth said, walking up to her. Sadly a kiss was out of the question. Stupid secrecy, she thought.

"Hey yourself," she smiled up at him.

"They got the blood off you pretty quick."

"That was TJ. He was ready with a damp towel for me."

"Good of him," Seth said genuinely. "Christ, the fans lost it out there when Renee attacked you. I didn't expect it to go off like that."

"Neither did I. I guess I really do have heat."

"You're certainly hot," Seth said, telling her exactly what he was thinking with his eyes.

"Save that for the hotel," she told him, before biting her bottom lip seductively. She knew he was a sucker for that. They could make a proper night of it, too, since this wasn't a tour bus night. Hotel tonight, airport tomorrow morning, she thought. Sadly, they would be catching separate flights.

* * *

Zelina's flight to Orlando on Wednesday morning was an earlier departure than Seth's flight to New York. With that in mind, he had sat with her at her departure gate until it was time for her to board.

"I hate this," she said, holding him tightly as they hugged.

"Me too, muñeca. At least it's only tonight we're apart. I'll get the Today show appearance out of the way, then I'll be straight to the airport to come home. And then we have no shows until Monday. It'll be Friday, Saturday and Sunday, just you and me."

"Mmmm," Zelina purred, loving the sound of that. "I say we don't leave the house."

"I say we don't leave the bedroom."

Zelina looked up at him, smiling. "Your ideas are always better than mine."

Seth laughed softly, noticing that there wasn't much of a line left for boarding her plane. "You should go through, babe."

"I guess," she said reluctantly. "I love you, Seth."

"I love you too, so much."

They exchanged a passionate kiss, then, with a heavy heart, Seth released the embrace he had held her in for several minutes.

"I'll see you tomorrow, baby," Zelina said.

"You will. I'll miss you, muñeca."

"I'll miss you, too." She turned and walked over to the back of the line to proceed through the gate.

Seth stood there, having no intention of leaving until his girl was out of sight. He watched as her boarding pass was checked. Before walking through the gate, she turned and gave him a gorgeous smile and a wave. He forced himself to smile and wave back, glad that he could at least keep that smile she had given him in his mind while they were apart.


	30. Chapter 30

Sleeping in a car hadn't been the best experience of David Hernandez's life. But then it hadn't been the worst, either. Any in any case, an uncomfortable few hours of sleep was a very small price to pay for what today promised to bring.

It had taken him most of the previous day, Tuesday, to drive from New York to Orlando. It was a good thing he had left before dawn because it had taken him almost eighteen hours, thanks to some traffic problems. It was an experience he had no intention of repeating. Thankfully, he wouldn't have to.

After his few hours of rest, David had awoken feeling surprisingly refreshed. The reason for that was no secret to him. Today was the day he would finally come face to face with his chiquita again. He had waited for it, longed for it, for so long. She was all he could think about. Man, he wanted her so badly. If everything went to plan, they would talk out their past issues, she would agree to end her sham of a relationship with that Rollins asshole, then they would kiss. He would feel those fulsome lips against his own. His hands would explore her body, savouring every inch of it. Then they would have sex. The very thought made him rock hard. A woman as beautiful as Zelina was an almost impossible thing, yet she was going to be his.

Waiting was a bastard, but it was what he had to do. Having parked the car in the lot of a supermarket while he slept, David had gone inside once he had woken up to take a piss and buy a strong cup of coffee. He had also purchased a bottle of water and some snacks in case he had a long wait ahead of him.

With the caffeine doing its work, he had driven to Zelina's address. He had recognised it from Google street view. Well, he had spent a lot of time looking at it over the past week.

Reversing the car back past a couple of houses, he had parked up on the opposite side of the street. Only a complete asshole would sit right outside of the house they were watching. Caution was important, because there was always the chance that chiquita might freak out again if... No, not if, when she saw him. Who knew what Rollins had said to her to talk her into getting the restraining orders? He could have been putting all kinds of poison into her head, and David couldn't allow that to ruin everything he had planned. No, come what may, everything he wanted, everything he had dreamed about, was going to happen.

He took off the baseball cap he was wearing to scratch his head. He didn't like the feel of wearing it, but doing so was necessary, since it would make it highly unlikely that even if Zelina drove past his car and happened to glance his way, that she would recognise him. He had also brought a pair of leather gloves with him because he hadn't decided yet whether it would be better to approach her house and knock the door, or to check out the back door and then choose one of the locks to pick. If there was a chance she wouldn't open the door for him, it would be better to choose the latter option. It left less to chance, since he didn't have any doubt in his lock picking ability. If he was going to break into the place, it was prudent not to leave fingerprints. After all, the nasty possibility of everything going wrong did exist.

Waiting was making him angry. Surely Zelina should have been home by now? It was past fucking lunch time! How long did it fucking take to fly from whatever shithole town she had been filming the dumb wrestling show in last night? What if she didn't come home? What if she had gone to New York with that bastard weasel Rollins? That would be a disaster, but there would be another time to come back. But he didn't want to think about that possibility. She was going to come home, alone. She was.

David sat there for another twenty minutes, finding it harder and harder to control his temper. "Where is the fucking bitch?" he eventually exploded. "If she's gone to New York with that fucking prick, I'll kill someone!"

Clenching both of his fists together so tightly it hurt, he forced himself to take deep breaths. He needed to calm down. She would come.

A few minutes later, David heard a car approaching – something of a rarity on this road at this time of day, apparently. He tried his best to look natural, knowing that it was the best way to cover up most things that you didn't want people to see as suspicious. If you looked like you fitted in and were going about your business, people assumed you were doing exactly that.

The car drove past where he was parked, and stopped right at the bottom of the driveway belonging to Zelina's house. David felt his heart start pounding. The passenger door opened. There she was. The sight of her took his breath away. Wearing a simple sleeveless black top and jean shorts, she looked to him like a piece of fine art - a thing of indescribable beauty. She walked round to the back of the car, and David thought for a moment she was going to look in his direction. But no.

A black guy got out of the driver's side of the car. He walked around and popped the trunk for her, then lifted out a travel case. An Uber driver or similar, David realised, watching their interactions. That made sense, since she had just flown in.

He watched intently as the car pulled away and Zelina wheeled her case up the short driveway. She let herself into the house without even coming close to looking at him. And now she was in there, alone. At this time of day, there was hardly a soul around on this street, either. Most of the residents were presumably at work. He decided to give chiquita a few minutes to settle in, then make his move while the coast was relatively clear.

While he waited, an elderly woman walking a dog passed by on Zelina's side of the road. David took notice of that. It was no irrelevance. If he went and knocked on chiquita's door and she caused a scene instead of letting him in, it would be bad if someone happened to come wandering up the street and chose to get involved. Decision made, then, he thought. He would have to pick one of the locks and get in that way, ideally by the back door.

Looking across at the house again, David figured getting over the fence into her garden wouldn't be an issue. It was only a few feet high. People in neighbourhoods like this were more interested in whether their homes looked nice than whether they were secure. Fucking idiots.

The minutes dragged by. David was barely able to contain himself, but he wanted Zelina to be settled in before he approached the house. But then, what if she decided to go out and run errands or something stupid? What if he blew his best chance by being too cautious?

"Do it," he told himself. "Do it now."

After quickly putting his gloves on, David got out of his car. He looked both ways, not for traffic, but for people. There was nobody. Knowing that running would make him stand out if anyone happened to glance out of a window and see him, he walked casually across the street, made his way towards Zelina's house, then cut across her small front lawn. First job done.

There was gate leading to the back garden, but when David tried it, he found that Zelina at least had the brain to lock it. No matter. He checked again for potential unwanted attention and saw no one. As quietly as he could, he scaled the fence and vaulted over the top of it. After dropping to the ground on the other side, he froze in place, listening for any sign that he had been seen. Silence. After a moment, a car drove up the road, continuing past without slowing at all. He was in the clear. Second job done.

Walking quietly around the side of the house, David found that the back door lead into the kitchen. Not ideal. But in his favour was the fact that there was apparently a utility room next to the kitchen. He could hear a washing machine running – perfect cover for any sound he might make while picking the lock. All he had to do was make sure chiquita wasn't in the kitchen. This was the most risky moment so far.

Pressed flat against the wall, David approached the window. Risking a cautious peak into the room, he saw that it was empty. Good.

Crouching, he made his way past the window, hidden beneath it, towards the door. Just when he was about to stand up and go to work on the lock, he froze. Sounds. Coming from in the kitchen. Running water. A cup being put down on a work surface. He guessed Zelina was making a tea or coffee. It was probably much-needed after a flight.

Forcing his senses to focus as much as possible on hearing, he tried to judge what was going on in there. His eyes settled on a garbage bin nearby. What if he she came out to put something in there, he thought in a moment of panic. Fuck it, he could just bundle her back into the house if that happened.

Footsteps. Leaving the kitchen. Good.

David waited a minute, listening intently in case she came back for something else. Nothing happened. His heart started pounding again. This was it.

Standing up, he pulled his lock picks out of his jacket pocket. It would have been easier to work without wearing the gloves, but if this all ended up going sideways, he didn't want to leave evidence all over the fucking place. He wasn't stupid.

Thirty seconds later, the lock clicked open. The door was one of those shitty UPVC ones with a frosted glass panel. There would be no bolts or anything on the inside. Yet again, pathetic security. Third job done.

Being careful not to make a sound, David pushed the door open. At least the hinges didn't squeak. He got the smell of some kind of crappy herbal tea, but more importantly a faint hint of some kind of lovely perfume. Chiquita had always liked to smell good, he could remember.

He could hear a TV. It sounded like she had just turned on a wrestling show. How predictable. Some commentator had just said, "Welcome to NXT."

Taking another deep breath, David walked through the kitchen, carefully keeping his footsteps quiet on the tiled floor. The door into the living room had been left open.

David stepped through the doorway, and there she was. The girl of his dreams. The most beautiful girl in the world. She was curled up on a couch, sipping at the cup of tea she had just made.

Before David could say anything, Zelina's head snapped around towards him. She must have sensed a presence in the room. Things started to go in slow motion for him. Her eyes widened in shock. She screamed in panic. She jumped up off the couch, sending her cup of tea flying across the room. He realised she was going to run for the door at the opposite end of the room, towards the front door.

"No, chiquita!" he shouted, bolting after her. She couldn't be allowed to run, not this time. As he was already standing and she'd had to get up, he was easily able to catch her before she could even get out of the living room.

"No! Help me!" she screamed at the top of her voice as he grabbed her in a waist lock from behind. He couldn't have her doing that. Someone might hear her and come to investigate.

"Shut up!" he ordered her angrily, clamping a hand over her mouth as he dragged her back into the room with his other arm still around her waist. "I only want to talk to you, you dumb bitch!"

"Hmmmp!" she screamed into his hand, thrashing against his vice like grip.

"Stop fucking struggling!" he demanded.

But she wasn't listening. She was flailing her legs around, trying to get purchase on something, and using a hand to try and pull his hand off her mouth.

David had intended to drag her to the couch and hold her down on there until she calmed down, but it didn't work out that way. Screaming again into his hand, she managed to get her feet onto the arm of the couch and use that as leverage to launch herself backwards. She was small and not very strong, but it was enough to stagger him. His legs hit her coffee table, and he fell backwards onto it, taking her with him.

With a loud crash, the table collapsed as David went through it. He felt the wind driven out of his lungs by the impact on his back. Gasping for air, he thought for a moment that he was fucked. If chiquita ran now, he wouldn't be able to get up and go after before she escaped the house.

But she wasn't moving, he realised. As they had fallen through the table, she had slipped from his grasp and ended up landing on the broken table top beside him instead of her fall being cushioned by him. He guessed she had hit her head on the thick wooden table top and knocked herself out.

As he tired to regain his breath, he checked to make sure she wasn't seriously hurt. He couldn't see any injuries, and she was breathing. Yes, she must have banged her head. She was out like a light, but apparently okay apart from that.

Once he had caught his breath, David got up off the remains of the coffee table. "Stupid fucking bitch," he snarled at the unconscious woman lying before him. He drew his leg back to give her a stiff kick in the stomach as a punishment, but with a frustrated growl, he thought better of it. She was lucky.

"You're not going to run, that's for fucking sure," he told her. "That's three times I've tried to do this the right way, yet you wouldn't fucking listen! Well, you will. Trust me."

With that, David bent down and picked Zelina up. Damn, she was stunning, even asleep, he thought, looking at her as she lay in his arms. He gently stroked her hair, feeling lost on her.

Stop wasting time, he told himself, snapping out of it. Who knew how long she would be out for? This wasn't the time to fuck around. With renewed determination, he carried her out of the room and up the stairs. It wasn't a big house, so it only took him a moment to find her bedroom.

"Perfect," he said as he lay her down on the bed. It had a metal frame, with bars at the top and the bottom. Now he just needed something to tie her up with. There was a chest of drawers in the corner of the room. That was the logical place to start looking.

Searching through the drawers, he found some very sexy lace underwear. That reminded him, he really should undress her a bit before tying her up. It would make things easier later, when they had sex.

In the bottom drawer, he found a spare bed cover, pillow cases and a couple of bed sheets. They were just what he needed. Taking out the two sheets, he tore them into long strips and threw them onto the bed.

Leaning over Zelina, David removed her top and her shorts, leaving her lying there in some very tasty black underwear. "Fuck me," he breathed, barely able to comprehend her beauty. Her body was almost as breath-taking as the fall through the coffee table had been.

After idly tossing her clothes aside, David stretched out one of her arms above her and to her side, then tightly bound her wrist to one of the bed frame's metal bars, just above a horizontal bar. He repeated the same process with her other arm. He had made sure they were secured too far away from her head for her to be able to reach the bonds, and that the horizontal bar would stop her from working her wrists downwards on the vertical bars they were tied to.

Next, he moved onto her legs. He didn't want her writhing around the place and trying to kick him or something stupid. She had proven that she couldn't be trusted, at least until he had talked some sense into her, so who knew what she might try?

It was a good job he had made long strips out of the bed sheets because she was so small that her pretty little legs didn't come to close to reaching the bottom of the bed. It would have been an idea to have brought some rope with him, but he hadn't really thought it would come to this. The fact that it had was chiquita's fault, not his.

David tied one of the strips to Zelina's right ankle, then secured the other end to one of the bars at the bottom of the bed. Repeating the process with her other leg, he was happy that she was tied up nice and tight and wouldn't be able to get free. But he wanted to make doubly sure. Taking chances was for fools. The perfect idea came to mind, but it would mean a search of the house.

Heading back downstairs, he wondered where might be the most logical place she would store duct tape. Surely every house had a roll of duct tape lying around somewhere, didn't it?

Trying the utility room first, he came up empty-handed. But his luck was better in the kitchen. One of the drawers was full of all kinds of odds and ends, including a small first aid kit. But more importantly, there was a largely unused roll of black duct tape in there. It was a wide roll and looked quite strong. "Ideal," he decided.

On the way back through the living room with the roll of tape in hand, David stopped to turn off the enormous TV, since no one was watching it. Why did a person need a TV that big anyway? The money would have been better spent on a new back door that a five year old couldn't break into. Still, he could take care of that for her, once they were living here together. And they would still have the big TV.

Trudging back upstairs, he walked into the bedroom, pleasingly finding chiquita still out cold. She really must have give herself quite a bump on the head.

His first task with the duct tape was to wrap it around her ankles several times, so that they were bound together as well as individually being tied to the bed frame. Then he moved up to the top of the bed. The sheet strips looked secure enough around her wrists, but why not make sure? He wrapped tape a few time around each wrist, over the top of the sheet material.

Standing back for a second, he admired his handiwork. No, she really wasn't going anywhere now. There was only one more thing to do. Until he'd had the chance to talk to her, he couldn't risk any more of that ridiculous screaming.

Leaning back over the bed, he lifted her head and wrapped the tape around her mouth and head three times, as tightly as he could physically make it. That would make a very effective gag indeed. In a concession to her comfort, he had carefully moved her hair out of the way. He did his best to tidy it up for her before gently putting her head back down on the pillow.

"There we go," he told her, standing back up. Damn, women looked sexy as hell when they were tied up, especially chiquita. It brought back memories from all those years ago. So much wasted time since then, but they could make up for it.

"When you wake up, chiquita, we're going to talk, and you're going to realise that you're mine."


	31. Chapter 31

A headache. That was the first thing Zelina noticed when she began to regain consciousness. The left side of her head really hurt, like she had been hit by something. What had happened?

Then, all at once, as she opened her eyes, her senses fired up and so did her memory. David had appeared in her house and attacked her! She had tried to run but he had grabbed her and covered her mouth to stop her screaming. She had tried to fight him off. That was all she knew.

But now, she realised, starting to panic, she was in big trouble. Her wrists and ankles were causing her considerable pain, and there was something wrapped incredibly tightly around her head, covering her mouth. Oh, God, no, she thought as the fear really set in. David had attacked her, and now she had woken up bound and gagged on her bed. What the hell was he going to do?

Terrified, Zelina raised her head, expecting to find him in the room, glaring at her. He wasn't there. But she could see that her ankles were duct taped together, and also bound to the frame at the bottom of the bed with strips of some kind of material. Trying to move her legs, she found it impossible to do anything other than lift them off the bed slightly.

"Mmmm," she gasped into whatever was gagging her. It had to be more of that duct tape, she realised, since her mouth felt like it was essentially glued shut by some kind of adhesive. The tape was wrapped so tightly that her cheeks hurt. Fear was making her breathe rapidly, which she couldn't do very well with her mouth covered. She was close to hyperventilating.

Trying to move her arms was impossible, they were pinned in place, and both wrists felt like they were being crushed against something hard. She had pins and needles in her hands from restricted blood circulation. Looking to her right, she saw that her wrist was bound to the bed frame with a lot of duct tape. There was something else partially sticking out underneath the tape, too. Another of those material strips, she realised.

There was no way she was going to be able to free herself from that bondage, she knew, feeling even more scared by the second. David could do literally anything to her, and she was powerless to defend herself.

What if he had come to kill her? That thought started her hyperventilating again. She had been terrified of him many times before, both in reality and in night terrors, but this was something so much worse than any of that.

Can't get free. Got to get the tape off my mouth, she thought, trying to control her frantic breathing before she passed out. Attempting to move her mouth again, she found it impossible. There was no chance she could work the gag off, and she couldn't hope to reach one of her hands to work on it with her fingers.

It was no good. She was totally helpless. No way to escape, and no way to get help. Making noise loud enough to alert a neighbour, even if they were home, which they wouldn't be, was not going to be possible.

She had been so panicked about the way she found herself tied up that it only dawned on her now that she had been undressed down to her underwear. That started her shaking in fear. David was going to rape her, again. That was the only possible explanation for taking her clothes off before tying her up. He was going to rape her, and when he had done that, he was going to kill her.

I'm going to die, here, in my own bed, she thought, feeling tears filling her eyes. I'm never going to see Seth again. I'm never going to see my family again.

"Mmmmmpph," she moaned pitifully, starting to cry in desperation.

Seth's face appeared in her mind's eye. "Don't give up, muñeca," he told her.

He was right, and she drew strength from him. She wasn't dead. She needed to stay that way, whatever it took. If David had simply wanted to murder her, he would have done so by now. He could have strangled her while she was unconscious, but he hadn't. That gave her a chance, however faint. Somehow, she told herself, she just had to live through this.

Trying again to get her breathing under control, she closed her eyes, accepting the fact that if he wanted to rape her again, she was going to have to let him. It wasn't as if she would have a choice anyway. As long as he didn't kill her, she had to let him do whatever he wanted.

She heard footsteps coming up the stairs, and the panic hit her full force again. It was him. He was coming. "Mmmm," she squeaked involuntarily, looking towards the door with wide eyes.

David walked into the room carrying one of the chairs from her dining set. "Ah, you're awake. Good."

"Mmmmph," she gasped, instinctively trying to cower away from him in fright, but unable to because of how tightly bound she was. Part of brain told her that at least he didn't seem angry or immediately threatening, and he had no weapon. He had just put the chair down next to the bed.

"Calm down," he said, noting how much she was struggling to breathe. "I'm not going to hurt you. Breathe."

Zelina tried her best to do as he said. She knew she couldn't trust him at all when he said he wouldn't hurt her, but for right now, he had just calmly sat down on the chair.

Do as he says, she told herself, with another reminder that surviving was the primary goal. Do as he says, and don't anger him. He's crazy; he could flip at any minute and decide to strangle me or cut my throat with something.

"I didn't want to do that, you know," David said, meaning tying her up. "All I wanted to do was talk to you, yet you kept running away. You even tried to run away just now. I can't have you doing that because you need to hear what I have to say."

Zelina just lay there, trying her best to calm her breathing. A plan began to form in her mind. If he wanted to talk, maybe she could play along with him; humour him; act like she wanted the same thing as him; tell him what he wanted to hear. But first, she could try and persuade him to take her gag off. If he wanted to talk, surely she had to be able to talk also?

"You see, I've come to a realisation," he was saying. "We had a great thing all those years ago. We shouldn't have let it end the way it did. Seeing you after all that time just made me see that we should be together. We've wasted a lot of time, but it's not too late. I can forgive you for running away, and we can start over and make a life here, together."

As she listened, Zelina realised he was totally fucked in the head, as if that wasn't already more than obvious. He really thought they could come out of this as a couple. It was beyond insane. But she could try and work with it. "Mmm," she said softly, trying to encourage him to take the tape off.

"But there is a problem; a big problem," he went on, ignoring her. "That Rollins guy. You're dating him, aren't you?"

She told herself to be very careful. If anything was going to anger him to the point of more violence, it was talking about Seth. But he seemed to have somehow figured things out as far as their relationship was concerned. Maybe he had found some of the clothes that Seth had at her place for when he stayed over? With that in mind, she couldn't risk denying the relationship, assuming she got the chance to say anything. If David thought he was being lied to, that would be very dangerous for her indeed.

Attempting to look as willing to talk as she could, she moaned another couple of times into the tape, trying to encourage him to remove it.

"What?" he asked, at least acknowledging her this time.

"Mmmmpph," she grunted.

David took a moment to consider. "Alright, I'll take it off."

He leaned forward, but towards the nightstand, not towards her. Zelina was sure her heart stopped for a moment when he held up one of her chef's knives and showed it to her.

"But if you scream, I'm going to have to hurt you with this. I don't want to, so don't make me. Understand?"

She wished she wasn't shaking in fear, certain that he could tell, but she couldn't help herself. She whimpered, trying to convey her compliance.

"Okay then." David got up, put the knife back on the nightstand, then set about unwrapping the tape from around her head. It was so tight that he had a real struggle with it, and it hurt her a lot, pulling hairs out from the back of her neck. But eventually, he yanked the last part from her lips.

"Ow!" she cried, gratefully taking some deep breaths.

"So, what's the deal?" he demanded as he sat back down, rolling the tape into a ball and dropping it to the floor. "You and Rollins. You're sleeping with him, aren't you?"

"Yes," she admitted cautiously. "But it's early days. We don't know what we are yet."

David smiled, seeming pleased with the answer, to her immense relief. "So you could just leave him, then?"

"Uh, yeah, I could." She paused for a second and decided to take a calculated risk. "I couldn't be with someone who would hurt me, though."

"I wouldn't hurt you," he promised earnestly, despite the obvious evidence to the contrary. "All I want is to be with you. You're the most beautiful woman in the world, chiquita. I need you to realise how much I want us to be together."

His words made Zelina's skin crawl, but she couldn't let her emotions betray her now. She had to humour him, hopefully to the point where he would untie her. Only then could she think about escaping him, somehow.

"So this is why you came here? Because you want to be with me? I really thought you were going to hurt me. That's why I ran. I was scared."

"I told you I only wanted to talk," he said irritably. "You need to get better at listening to people."

"I'm sorry," she replied, trying to sound as humble as possible.

"So, this Rollins asshole. You said you could leave him. You didn't say you would. Tell me what it'll take to win you back, chiquita. We can be so great together. I'd move down here to Orlando for you. We could live here. I could even travel with you to the wrestling shows. Imagine all the great times we could have in all those different cities you go to. But first, you'd need to end it with him."

He sounded so happy talking about his warped version of what their lives could be. Zelina decided to use that to her advantage. She was in so much pain from being tied up, and couldn't even feel her hands anymore. She had to get him to untie her, and soon. "I didn't know you felt this way," she said, acting for all she was worth. "Honestly, I wish you had tracked me down earlier. I know we can be great together, David. I know you'd always care for me and never hurt me. I've been waiting for someone like you to come into my life. We can be together if you move here, and of course I'll end it with Seth. I never cared for him anyway."

Watching his reactions to her words, Zelina's heart stopped when his face changed after her last sentence. To her horror, she saw she had laid it on too thick, and blown it.

"Liar," he snarled. "Lying fucking bitch! I know you fucking care for him. I've seen you with him!" he shouted at her. "You think I'm fucking stupid! You think you can lie there and bullshit me, you little slut? I ought to fucking kill you!"

"No, David, please. Please," she begged, literally for her life.

"But I don't want to kill you," he said, sounding tortured by his own conflicting emotions. "I want to be with you. I need it. I need us to be together. Look at you, you're so fucking beautiful. Oh, God, you're amazing. I want to be able to fuck you every day, anytime I want."

"No. No, please," she pleaded as tears started to flow down her cheeks. She realised he was going to rape her, and by the sound of it, he might then abduct her. She pictured herself in one of those horrifying scenarios that were sometimes on the news – a woman chained up in a basement in appalling conditions, being continually raped for years on end. Maybe she would rather die than live like that?

"Shut up, you fucking whore," David growled at her. He got up and picked something up from the nightstand. Zelina expected to see the knife, but no. He had the roll of duct tape. He was going to gag her again.

"No," she begged, turning her head away from him in a pathetic attempt at self defence. It proved to be another bad idea.

David snatched up the knife and held it to her throat. She could feel the cold steel digging into her skin. "You're going to make me kill you, bitch. Don't fucking dare defy me. Look at me and shut your mouth so I can tape it up, or I'll cut your throat right her and now."

"Please, no," Zelina choked out, feeling a full-on panic attack setting in. The knife was removed from her throat, and she did what he had ordered. What choice was there?

"Good," he said, going to work wrapping the tape tightly around her head.

"Help me, please," Zelina cried weakly into the gag, not that the words were decipherable in the least. In any case, there was no one to hear her.

* * *

Dan and Laura Morton were enjoying a week off work. They were not on vacation, but the rest and relaxation of a week together at home was much-needed. They were on their way home after having lunch at a local restaurant.

"Hey, Zelina said she was coming home today," Laura remembered as she turned their car onto their street. "We should stop by and see her."

"Yeah, that's a good idea," Dan agreed. "It's been a while. She's on the road so much these days."

"Good for her, though," Laura said. She parked the car outside of their friend's house. "She's living her dream right now."

"Yeah. There's no doubt she's worked hard enough for it."

They got out of the car and walked up the short driveway. With the street being so quiet, Dan could hear Zelina's washing machine running in the utility room at the back of the house. She must have left a window open for the sound to be getting out so well. "She's home, the washing machine is on," he observed.

Laura loudly knocked on the door. They waited. Getting no response, she knocked even louder. Still no response.

"Weird," Dan said.

"Maybe she's having a bath or something?" Laura guessed.

"Maybe." Not really expecting to see anything, Dan tried to look through the frosted glass window in the door. He couldn't make out very much, but he could see along the hallway into the living room, and it looked like something wooden was lying on the floor. Was it her coffee table? If so, it had been broken. Alarm bells started ringing. "It looks like her living room's been trashed," he told his wife, before loudly shouting, "Zelina?"

There was no mistaking the muffled scream that came from inside the house. They both heard it.

"Kick the fucking door in!" Laura said urgently.

Not needing to be told, Dan had already taken a step back to do exactly that. He smashed his foot into the door as hard as he could. There was a cracking sound, but the door hardly budged. He kicked it again and the lock started to give way. A third kick sent the door flying open.

"Stay here," Dan told his wife before charging into the house. As he entered, a man was rushing down the stairs brandishing a big kitchen knife.

"Fuck," Dan cried out as the man lunged at him, intending to kill first and ask questions later. Luckily, the lunge wasn't well timed or aimed, and Dan was able to dodge it and slam a fist hard into the knifeman's stomach.

The man doubled over, and Dan aimed a kick at his right arm, which was holding the knife. The kick found its target and the knife went flying across the hallway.

Watching on, Laura screamed as the mystery man charged her husband again, and they both fell to the floor. A frantic struggle ensued, with the man getting the upper hand. He delivered a stiff punch to Dan's face.

Knowing that she had to act, Laura walked into the house and picked up a porcelain lamp from the little table that Zelina had in her hallway, yanking the power cable out of the wall socket.

David raised his fist to strike a second blow to Dan, but before he could deliver it, Laura gave the lamp a baseball-like swing at the side of his head. With a loud crash, the lamp exploded all across the hallway. The man collapsed onto his side, knocked clean out by the impact. The side of his head was already bleeding.

"Are you okay?" Laura asked her husband with concern.

Dan's nose was bleeding from the punch he had taken, but he was already getting up. "Yeah. Call 911. Get the cops and an ambulance here yesterday."

"I'm not getting an ambulance for this piece of shit!"

"I didn't mean for him," Dan said, charging up the stairs. "Zelina?" he yelled.

A muffled cry came from her bedroom.

Dan ran in there and was horrified by what he saw. She would trussed up like an animal on the bed, gagged, wearing only her underwear, or at least, she had been wearing only her underwear. Her legs had obviously been bound together with tape, which had then been cut loose, the ends still stuck to her ankles. Her panties had also been cut loose, leaving her exposed. He realised the animal now lying in the hallway must have been just about to rape her. Or maybe he already had?

"Mmmmph!" she cried desperately, looking at him with eyes wide as saucers. She was hyperventilating, clearly frightened half to death.

"It's okay," Dan said, hurrying over to her. "It's okay. Laura knocked him out and the cops are coming." As quickly as he could, he worked on taking her gag off.

"Don't let him rape me," she begged as soon as her mouth was freed. "Don't let him kill me, Dan, please."

"No one's going to hurt you," he promised tenderly, going to work on the tape around her right wrist. "It's all over now."


	32. Chapter 32

After checking into his room at the hotel WWE had booked for him in New York, Seth had decided to chill out for an hour or so before going out to have a walk around the city. Lying on the bed, relaxing with a coffee in front of the sports news, he was enjoying the chance to unwind after his flight when his phone rang.

He picked the phone up from where it had been lying beside him on the bed and looked at the screen. He didn't have the number that was calling saved as a contact, and he didn't recognise it. "Hello?" he answered cautiously.

"Seth?" A woman's voice.

"Yeah. Who's this?"

"It's Laura Morton, Zelina's friend. Seth, I've got something to tell you, and I'm not really sure how to do it."

Now Seth recognised the voice. He had met Laura and her husband twice at parties with Zelina. He had quickly sat up as he heard what she had to say. Whatever had happened was bad news, and it had to concern Zelina if Laura was calling him. "What's happened?" he asked urgently. "Is Zelina okay?"

"Uh, not really, no," came the awkward reply.

"Just tell me what's happened," he demanded impatiently, getting more worried by the second.

"Okay, I'm trying." Laura paused for a second, presumably trying to find the right words. "Some guy broke into Zelina's house. At least, we think he did. It's weird, there's no signs of forced entry."

Seth felt his blood run cold. He had no idea how David Hernandez could have found where Zelina lived, but he instinctively knew that he was the guy they were talking about. "What did he do to her?" he asked, dreading the answer. "Tell me she's okay."

"Physically, she's okay," Laura said, to his immeasurable relief. "Dan and I got here just in time. He had her bound and gagged on her bed, and we think he was just about to rape her when Dan kicked the door in. We heard muffled screaming from upstairs when we came around to see her, knowing that she was home today."

Seth felt numb, unable to process what had happened to his girl. "What do you mean, you think he was going to rape her? What has Zelina said?"

"Uh, not much. The paramedics had to sedate her when they arrived. Seth, she was having a full-blown panic attack. We couldn't get her to calm down enough to talk to us. But the guy had stripped her underwear off her just before we showed up, so it's obvious what he was about to do. But, again, physically, she appears unharmed."

That was something, but Seth couldn't take much comfort in it. "What happened to the bastard? Was it a Hispanic guy with slicked back hair?" he asked icily, picturing himself beating David Hernandez's face to a bloody pulp.

"Yeah. You know the fucking guy?" Laura asked, surprised.

"He's Zelina's ex from years back, recently turned stalker. His name is David Hernandez. She has a restraining order against him. What happened to him? You said Dan kicked the door in, he must have still been in the house?"

"He was. He was just rushing down the stairs when we got through the door. He went for Dan with a knife, but luckily didn't manage to stab him. They fought, and Dan took a stiff punch from him. I think he has a broken nose. But then I smashed the asshole around the side of the head with a lamp and knocked him out. He was still out when the cops arrived, so they've arrested him and probably taken him for treatment somewhere, I assume."

"Where's Zelina?" Seth asked next.

"Being taken to hospital in an ambulance. Dan went with her. I'm at her house, waiting for someone to show up and take care of the door. Seth, I don't know where you are, but you need to get here, fast."

He had already thought the same thing. "I'm in New York. I'm supposed to be doing a TV appearance tomorrow morning, but I'll be on the next flight home. Can you let Dan know, so that he can tell Zelina I'm coming?"

"Sure. I'll do that now. Seth?"

"What?"

"Travel safely, okay? She needs you here in one piece."

Seth's first thought was that he would be using Uber cars and a plane, so he had little say in the matter, but he knew that she meant well by what she had said. "I hear you. I'm leaving now. And Laura? Thank you for saving her."

"I'm just glad we could. I'll see you at the hospital."

With that, Seth ended the call. Within moments, he had grabbed his case and was out of the room, pulling up the Uber app on his phone to get a ride to the airport.

Downstairs, after surprising the same guy at the reception desk who had only recently checked him in by requesting to check back out, he had a couple of minutes to wait outside for his ride to show up. It was the most frustrating wait of his life. When he had first gotten the news from Laura, he had expected all kinds of emotions to hit him, but what he actually felt was just numbness, like his mind couldn't process things properly. All he could think about was that he had to get to Orlando, to Zelina.

Laura had said she was having a full-blown panic attack, to the point where she couldn't even talk to anyone. Seth couldn't even imagine how terrified a person had to get to reach that point. What he could clearly remember was that she had been shaking in fright in his arms after bumping into David outside of the hotel a few weeks earlier. If that scared her that much, what would being tied up and almost raped by him have done?

Then another question came to him. What would have happened if Dan and Laura hadn't shown up when they had? That made his blood run cold again. Zelina would have been raped for sure, but then what? He couldn't believe David had gone through the effort of tracking her down and breaking into her house to rape her and then leave. No, he wouldn't have done that. The fucking sicko would probably have killed her, or abducted her. "My God," he breathed, feeling his legs go weak.

Then his Uber ride pulled up in front of the hotel, snapping him into action. Get to the airport. Get the next flight to Orlando. Get to the hospital. Get to Zelina.

A jovial overweight guy called Jim was the Uber driver. He climbed out of the car and cheerfully said, "Seth? How are you?"

"Been better, man," Seth said, forcing him to try and be polite. What had happened wasn't this guy's fault. "Got a family emergency back home, so need to get to the airport ASAP."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Jim said, taking his case and putting it in the trunk. "I'll get you there as quick as I can."

"Thanks," Seth said, getting in the back.

That was to be the extent of the conversation on this Uber ride. Seth had his thoughts to occupy him, and none of them were pleasant. He now felt angry with himself over what had happened. Why hadn't he been there with Zelina? Why hadn't he been there when his girl needed him? Why hadn't he been able to do more to keep David away from her? He didn't have answers to any of those questions, but her sure had the guilt that came with them.

Going a mile a minute, his mind lurched off in a different direction. What if Zelina felt the same way? What if she felt that he had let her down? It was easy to see how an experience as horrifying as what she had been through could change someone's outlook on a lot of things. What if she decided to break things off with him? Even though they hadn't been together long in the grand scheme of things, Seth knew that would break his heart. As incredibly selfish as it was, he needed to hear Zelina say she still loved him, and that she didn't blame him for what happened, even though he blamed himself.

Then it occurred to him that he was taking off from New York when he was expected to be making a TV appearance the next morning. There was no way that was happening now. He had to let Hunter know, and that would mean telling him what had happened. Seth didn't know if he could get through that without losing it. He knew that at some point his emotions were really going to catch up to him, and he was going to break down. But he couldn't do that now. He had to get back to Orlando. He had to book a flight. He had to get on the phone to Hunter. He had to get his head in the game.

Taking out his phone, he quickly pulled up details of flights from New York to Orlando. He paid for a seat on the next flight, not even paying attention to the price or caring that it was an economy seat. He would have travelled there the whole way locked in the toilet if he had to. Waiting over two hours for the plane to leave was going to be fucking torture, though.

Next, he had to get on to Hunter. Calling the boss's number, he got an answer after a few rings.

"Hello, Seth."

"Hunter. Something bad has happened. I'm on my way to the airport now, and I'm flying back to Orlando on the first flight."

"Uh, okay. What is it, family?" Hunter asked, surprised, but using an understanding tone.

"It's Zelina," Seth said, dreading having to put what had happened into words. He could now understand why Laura had found herself struggling earlier, and he felt bad for snapping at her.

"What's happened?" Hunter prompted.

"Uh, David Hernandez broke into her house," Seth said, feeling sick just thinking about that bastard putting his hands on her girlfriend. "He attacked her, tied her up, and he was about to rape her. Luckily, some friends of hers happened to go round there and heard her trying to scream. They kicked the door in, knocked David out and rescued her."

"Fucking hell," Hunter breathed, horrified. "You said about to rape her. They stopped the bastard in time?"

"Yes, thank fuck. But even so, she was apparently in such a state of panic that the paramedics had to sedate her. She's been taken to hospital, so that's where I'm going now. I'm on my way to the airport now, and I'm on the next flight out of here to Orlando. I just wanted to let you know that I obviously won't be doing the Today appearance tomorrow morning, if you can do whatever to let them know."

"I'll handle it," Hunter assured him. "We'll have to send someone for their show at this late notice. I'll probably go do it myself, since it'll be hard to get anyone else there now. I'll just tell them you had a family emergency. No one will question that any further."

"Thank you, Hunter," Seth said genuinely. "I'm sorry to let you down. I seem to be good at that."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, where was I when she needed me? Sitting in a fucking hotel in New York," Seth said bitterly.

"Now don't start talking like that. This is not your fault, Seth. You go be with her; comfort her; love her. That's what she needs from you right now. And when you see her, give her my best wishes, okay? Give it a couple of days and see how she is, and if she needs time off, just let me know and I'll work something out."

"Thanks, man," Seth said, knowing that he was lucky to have someone so understanding to report to.

"No problem. Take care."

Seth ended the call and sat in silence for the rest of the journey, just wishing the car to go faster, even though that didn't make any sense since he was going to have to wait around for his flight anyway.

Eventually, Jim pulled up in front of the terminal building and got out to retrieve Seth's case from the trunk for him.

"Thanks," Seth said when he took the case.

Jim gave him a compassionate smile. "Sorry, but I overhead your call. I hope the bastard gets life."

Seth nodded an acknowledgement. "Me too."

Pulling his case along behind him, he walked into the airport. "I'm coming, muñeca," he said under his breath. "I know I wasn't there when you needed me, but I'm coming."

* * *

Seth had called Laura Morton from his Uber ride on the way to the hospital where Zelina had been taken, letting her know that he would be there soon. Laura had offered to meet him at the main entrance and show him to Zelina's room, and Seth had gladly accepted.

"Just here," he said to his driver, pointing to where Laura was standing on the sidewalk as they approached the hospital's entrance.

The driver parked up and went to fetch Seth's case for him while he got out and greeted Laura with a hug. It lacked much intimacy, since they barely knew each other, but Seth appreciated it nonetheless. "Thank you for meeting me, Laura. How is she?"

"Still heavily sedated. The doctor said they'll start bringing her off it overnight, and she should be able to go home." Suddenly, she hugged him tighter and sniffed heavily. He realised she was trying to hold back tears. "It was awful, Seth. I've never seen anyone scared like that in my life. She was breathing so fast she could barely breathe, if that makes sense, and she was shaking like crazy. All she kept saying was for us to not let him get near her, even though we kept telling her he couldn't."

"Oh my God," he said, his voice breaking at thought of his girlfriend in that state. "Take me to her."

The Uber driver left Seth with best wishes and his case, then Laura led the way into the hospital. "She's been asking for you, Seth," she told him.

The wave of relief that hit Seth made him feel bad, but he couldn't help it. During the flight, he had convinced himself that Zelina would blame him for what had happened; that their relationship would not survive what she had gone through. But if she had been asking for him, that might not be the case.

"Her house is secure now, too," Laura was saying. "Or, it soon will be. We've got a friend of Dan's who is a builder there now, putting a new door and a new frame in, since they were both trashed when Dan kicked it in. When we told him what had happened and why we'd had to kick it in, he said he would do the work for free for her."

"That's so kind," Seth said appreciatively. "But I'll pay him, that's not a problem."

"He won't take the money, trust me," Laura said. "Maybe just consider getting his number from us if you ever have any work done?"

"Alright, will do."

"The cops were still there when I left. They were photographing everything for evidence."

Seth didn't know what to say to that, so they walked in silence for a moment until he said, "Is Dan okay? You said he took a punch and had a broken nose."

"He'll be fine," she replied with a smile. "It wasn't a bad break; just a bit of blood and probably black eyes for a few days. In his own words, a small price to pay for rescuing Zelina. This is her room just up here," she added, pointing to an open door.

Seth was surprised that the journey through the hospital had been so short, but he wasn't going to complain. His girl was just up ahead. He almost broke into a jog to get there just a few seconds quicker.

Walking into the room, Seth found Dan sitting on a chair next to Zelina's bed. She was lying down, the bed cover pulled almost up to her chin, looking like she was asleep. She looked so restful; there was no immediate sign of the horrors she had been subjected to only hours earlier.

"Zelina, Seth's here," Dan said, getting up to greet the new arrival.

Seth could see that Dan's eyes were already turning black thanks to the broken nose he had suffered. "Thanks for saving her, Dan," he said, offering his hand. "I can't even put into words how grateful I am."

Accepting the handshake, Dan said, "Don't thank me, just be with her. She needs you now, and she probably will do for a while."

"Seth?" It was Zelina's voice, sounding very faint as a result of whatever drug they had pumped her full of to calm her down.

"We'll leave you guys to it," Laura said, leading Dan out of the room and closing the door behind them.

"Thanks, guys," Seth called after them just before the door closed. Then he walked over to the chair that Dan had vacated. He saw that Zelina's eyes were very glassy, further confirmation that she was out of it on the meds. "I'm here, muñeca," he told her bending down to give her a light kiss on the forehead.

"They gave me something to calm me down," she said vaguely.

Seth sat down on the chair, turning it to properly face her. "I know they did, babe. According to Laura, they're going to bring you off it gradually overnight, and I'll be able to take you home tomorrow."

Zelina wriggled her arms out from under the cover, shoving it down a bit. She held one hand out towards him, wanting him to hold it.

Feeling a fresh injection of anger, Seth saw severe bruising on both of her wrists as he took her hand. He realised that they were a result of how she had been tied up. To cause that much bruising, she must have been in agony the whole time. That sadistic fuck David was lucky it had been Dan instead of him that had broken into the house, because Seth knew he would have beaten him to death. He wouldn't have been able not to.

"I thought he was going to kill me," Zelina said next, in the same dreamy voice.

Seth didn't know how best to respond to that. He knew that he had to tread carefully, fearful of upsetting her in her fragile mental state. "He's not going to do anything to you ever again," he promised. "The cops arrested him, and he's going to end up inside for a very long time for what he did today. Hopefully for the rest of his life."

"I need you to hold me," she said next, seeming not to have really taken in his words. He supposed that was understandable with the sedation. She raised her other arm, inviting him to join her on the bed.

Getting up straight away, Seth waited for her to shuffle over and make room for him. He wasn't sure if getting onto a bed with a patient was against hospital policy. Honestly, he didn't give a shit. All that mattered was that his girl wanted him, needed him, and he was going to be there this time. He climbed onto the bed and wrapped an arm gently around her. He felt himself tearing up when she cuddled up to him. It felt more like she was seeking protection than a loving embrace. If that was what she needed, he was only too happy to provide it.

"I only got through it because of you," she told him.

"What do you mean, babe?" he asked softly.

"He had me tied up, gagged, I couldn't get free. I was so scared. I was sure I was going to die. But you came to me in my mind, and you told me not to give up. I didn't give up, Seth. I didn't."

Realising that she was crying, Seth held her tightly. His own tears started to flow for the first time since he had gotten the phone call from Laura. "I know you didn't," he said, and then he burst properly into tears. For the next couple of minutes, they just held each other and cried. They were the two things they both needed most.


	33. Chapter 33

The next morning, Zelina's doctor had been happy to release her from the hospital, with the drugs that had been used to sedate her now out of her system. He was grateful yet again to Laura and Dan, who had taken his keys the previous evening and gone to fetch his car from his house so that he had a way of getting her home without using an Uber. They had also given him the set of keys for the new front door that had been put on Zelina's house by their builder friend, at no cost. Those guys really had proven themselves to be true friends to him and to Zelina, and he would not forget it.

Not for the first time since they had been together, Seth found himself dumbfounded by the incredible inner strength his girlfriend had. Naturally, she was a long way from her usual happy self, but she was coping remarkably well with what she had been through less than twenty four hours earlier. Even so, when they got into his car, she said something that pulled on his heartstrings.

"I can't go back to that house, Seth. I can't ever go back there."

"But that's your home," he said gently, turning and taking her hand. He had planned to take her back to his place anyway, since Laura had sent him a text to say that Zelina's house hadn't been cleaned up yet, and therefore obviously wasn't fit for her return. Laura had offered to help with the cleaning, telling him to let her know if he wanted a hand. He decided it might be best to take her up on that offer, realising that it wasn't going to be an easy thing to do.

Zelina looked him in the eyes and repeated herself. "I can't ever go back there. Not after what he did to me there. He broke in there and he… You know what he did to me. I could never feel safe there again. It's not my home, not anymore. Home is somewhere you feel safe, not somewhere you dread the thought of going to."

Seth squeezed her hand. He could understand where she was coming from, and he didn't want her trying to live somewhere with constant reminders of David Hernandez and the appalling attack he had carried out on her. There was only one obvious solution. "You're welcome to stay with me, muñeca. I'm not trying to say that as a way to try and push our relationship forward, I just want you to feel safe."

"I know, baby," she said, giving his hand a squeeze in return. "I'd never think you were trying to take advantage of me. All I want is to be with you. You make me feel safe. I know David's been arrested now, but even so, I know nothing will happen to me when I'm with you. I think staying with you at your place would be good for me right now, and of course when we're working, I'll be with you on the bus anyway."

"Then you're more than welcome to stay, to move in, whatever you want. I don't know if you want to look for somewhere else of your own; it's totally up to you."

Zelina considered that for a moment. "Why don't we just say I'll move in and we'll see how it goes?"

"Alright," Seth said happily. "If that's what you'd like, that's how we'll play it." He leaned in and they exchanged a peck on the lips. "I love you, muñeca."

"I love you too, baby."

Seth still didn't start the car. His memory had just dragged up something else from the previous day. "I should have told you yesterday, Hunter asked me to pass on his best wishes. I had to call him to tell him I wouldn't be doing the Today appearance, so I had to tell him what had happened."

"I understand," Zelina said, a blank expression on her face. He realised she was experiencing some awful memory or other, so he quickly carried on.

"He said that if you felt like you needed some time off, all we've got to do is let him know. He was really supportive and understanding."

"Bless him," she said genuinely. "But no, I don't want to be sat at home when you're back on the road. No way. I'd much rather be working than sitting around with nothing to do other than let my mind drift back to… that. Besides, that would be letting David effect my career. I'm getting pushed to the damn moon right now, and he's not going to stop that. Fuck him."

Seth had never felt anything like as proud of anyone in his life as he did of her in that moment. The emotion was so powerful that he felt himself tearing up. "You're so brave, Zelina. I love you so much I can't even put it into words."

She leaned forward and kissed him. "You don't have to put it into words; I already know." That said, she pulled him into an embrace that was quite awkward due to the fact that they were sitting in the car. While they were holding each other, she said, "I'd like to go to your place – home, now, I guess – and I'd just like to rest and watch TV all day. I don't feel up to doing anything else. The drugs still haven't totally worn off."

"Then that's the plan," he said with a smile.

They let go of each other and Seth fired up the car. As he drove across the city, a problem occurred to him. It was all well and good deciding that Zelina would move in with him, at least for the time being, but she didn't have much at his place in the way of belongings. She was plainly too scared to set foot back in her house, so there was only one solution. "I'll have to go to your place and fetch you some clothes and stuff. Eventually, we'll have to move all of your stuff out of course, but we can deal with that later."

"Yeah, we will. I'm never going back there," she told him yet again.

"Don't worry, I'll handle it all for you," he promised. "Laura said she would give me a hand too, so I'll drop her a text when we get home."

"Thank you, Seth," Zelina said, sounding emotional.

Fifteen minutes later, Seth parked the car on his driveway and escorted Zelina into the house. They had agreed that he wouldn't stop; it would be better if he went over to her place straight away. He hadn't mentioned cleaning the house, worried that it might trigger more memories, but he had said he might be a while.

"I'll be fine," she assured him, standing in the doorway. "The police have David now, so I know he's not coming after me. I'm traumatised, but I'm not crazy. I just can't go back to where he attacked me."

"I understand," he said compassionately. "If you don't want to go back there again, I'll make sure you don't have to. You curl up in front of the TV, and I'll go get you some clothes and take care of a few things. I'll be back as soon as I can, then we've got a few days to ourselves."

Zelina managed a smile. "That really does sound nice. Thank you so much. I'm really lucky to have you." She reached up and kissed him.

"We're lucky to have each other, muñeca. I'll be back soon."

Glad that she seemed to be doing as well as he could have possibly expected, Seth got back in his car with his spirits lifted slightly. Before setting off for Zelina's house, he sent a text to Laura Morton's number saying that he would really appreciate the help with the cleaning if the offer was still open. He started the car and backed out of the driveway, then his phone bleeped to signal that a reply had quickly arrived.

_Laura Morton: Meet you there in half an hour._

Seth knew he would be there sooner than that, but that was no problem. He knew that entering the house where his girl had been put through a harrowing attack was not going to be easy at all, especially with everything being left the way it had been when the cops had arrived, so it was probably better if he did it alone.

Ten minutes later, the moment was at hand. Seth was standing outside of the brand new front door, which looked like it had been installed by someone whose work was done to the highest standards. Again, he was thankful to Laura and Dan for getting their friend to come in and take care of it.

Taking a deep breath, he willed himself to get on with it. It was going to have to be done. He unlocked and opened the door and entered the hallway. The air was full of the smell of silicone sealant from the door being installed, but that wasn't what caught his attention. There was a blood stain on the carpet near the bottom of the stairs, and there were pieces of smashed up porcelain everywhere across the floor. He realised he was looking at the remains of the lamp that Laura had knocked David out with, and the blood belonged to the evil bastard himself. It was a shame there wasn't a lot more of it, he thought.

Stepping carefully around the pieces of porcelain so as not to crush them into the carpet, he walked through to the living room. That was when the horror of what Zelina had experienced began to hit him again, as it had that morning when she had first been able to tell him about it in her own words.

Looking at the smashed up coffee table and the cup of herbal tea that had spilled all over the floor, he could picture Zelina trying to run from David, only to be grabbed from behind. He could imagine her trying to scream for help with his hand covering her mouth. He knew for sure that he had never been close to feeling as frightened as she must have been in that moment in his life. Just thinking about it as he surveyed the scene of destruction made him clench his fists tightly in anger. If there was any real justice in the world, a court would allow him ten minutes in a locked room with David Hernandez. Only one of them would walk out alive in that scenario, that was for certain.

Seth already knew that no signs of forced entry had been found, yet somehow David had managed to enter the house via the back door. That mystery had been solved when the police had stopped by Zelina's hospital room that morning to ask her a couple of further questions, and had mentioned while they were there that a set of lock picks had been found in David's pocket when they had searched him.

Tracking Zelina down to her home, who the hell even knew how, lying in wait for her to be home alone, then lock picking a door to get in. David was the coldest, evilest of people out there, Seth thought. Again, he had the awful question on his mind: what would have happened if Dan and Laura hadn't shown up when they had? He physically shuddered. The answers were all beyond too scary to think about.

Having seen what there was to see downstairs, Seth felt compelled to go up to the bedroom, even though he knew he was going to be hit even harder by what he found there.

He walked up the stairs, knowing that David had carried Zelina up there, after she had presumably hit her head during some kind of fall onto the coffee table.

Then he walked into the bedroom, and his legs almost went from underneath him. He knew the crime scene had needed to be left exactly as it was for the police, but he hadn't expected it to be this graphic.

"Oh my God, Zelina," he said, horrified. The strips of what he guessed was a torn up bed sheet were still tied to the top and bottom of the bed. They had been used to bind her wrists and ankles, leaving her totally unable to move. There was also duct tape stuck over the wrist bondage, which Dan must have cut open in order to free her. He also noticed another long length of tape that had been tossed on to the floor, near to one of the chairs from her dining set. David must have carried that up to the bedroom so that he could sit there and talk to her. Seth's stomach turned at the thought of what he might have been saying.

He walked over and picked up the long piece of tape, not sure why he was even doing it. On the sticky side, he saw some of Zelina's red lipstick. That was the final straw for Seth. He imagined Zelina lying there, tied up like nothing more than a piece of meat, desperately trying to scream for help, knowing that no one would hear her; expecting no one to come and save her. Bursting into tears, he slumped to the floor, back resting against the bed.

Some macho part of his mind tried to convince him that he shouldn't be crying, but there was no stopping it. It was an emotional release that he simply needed to have. Now that he had started, he couldn't stop.

He wasn't sure how long he had been sitting there for when he heard the front door open.

"Seth? It's Laura," she called out brightly. "I'm here to clean, and let me tell you, no one's better at it than me."

He realised that she was trying to be cheerful in the face of the unpleasant task that she had agreed to take on with him. He couldn't even make himself call out to her.

"Seth? Are you upstairs?" Her voice sounded like it was coming from the living room now. Then he heard footsteps coming up the stairs. "Dan always tells me I've got OCD, that's how good I am at..." She walked into the bedroom then and saw him sitting there crying, surrounded by the vivid mementos of what David had done.

"Oh, shit, Seth, I'm sorry," she said, hurrying over to him and crouching down in front of him. She was wearing a grey tracksuit that had seen better days and a pair of blue rubber gloves, yet suddenly the cleaning was the last thing on the agenda. "I fucked up giving you all of the keys for the new door. I realised that when we got back home yesterday. I meant to come and take care of this for you."

"It's not your fault," he said, trying to get himself under control. At least he had managed to stop crying.

"I'll tell you what we're going to do, Seth. You're going to take off and go back home to Zelina, and I'm going to handle the cleaning for you."

Seth shook his head. "I can't let you do that."

"You're not letting me do anything. I'm doing it. And you're getting out of here."

He couldn't even bring himself to protest any further. Right now at least, he didn't want to be in the house any more than Zelina did. But there was something he did have to do before he could leave. "I need to pack some things for her. She doesn't have much at my place."

Laura stood back up and offered and hand to help him join her. "Then let's do it."

Accepting her hand, Seth rationalised that she was doing the right thing: giving him a purpose to concentrate on.

A short time later, he was ready to leave, with a travel case full of Zelina's things. It would do for a few days. Hopefully by then he would feel in a better head space to return for more of her stuff.

"Now, you let me know whatever else she needs and we'll bring it over for you if you text me your address," Laura said, almost as if she had been reading his mind. She was standing in the doorway, seeing him off.

"You guys are being so good to us both," Seth said, humbled by it.

"Zelina's a good friend of ours, and she loves you. You guys are in need right now, so we're helping. It's what friends do. Just remember where we are if the situation is ever reversed."

"Oh, I will, trust me," Seth promised. "Thanks again, Laura."

She just nodded, expressing no particular emotion about his gratitude. He had the strange impression that being polite wasn't something she was all that familiar with. But she was Italian, and they were very loyal people. She was certainly unfailingly loyal to Zelina. He turned to go, but Laura stopped him.

"Seth?"

He turned back to face her. "Yeah?"

"You'll get through this, together. Together, you understand?"

"Together," he repeated with a serious nod. It was an important point. What David had done was traumatic to him also. Yes, he had to be there for Zelina, of course he did, but she had to be there for him as well. They had to face whatever ups and downs came at them as a couple. What cheered him slightly was that he knew they would do exactly that. Their relationship was young, but despite his irrational doubts the previous day, he knew it was strong enough to rise to this test. What David had done would probably make them stronger – totally the opposite of what he had intended.

"Fuck you," Seth said under his breath on the way to the car, picturing David once more. It was a strange world, where something as dreadful as what he had done could make his victim and her boyfriend stronger and closer as a couple.


	34. Chapter 34

After a few days at home together, Seth and Zelina were back on the road. All things considered, Zelina thought she was coping amazingly well with what had happened to her. She had suffered a couple of night terrors, and had occasionally found herself thinking back to the attack and feeling scared, but those things were definitely to be expected. She knew that she had Seth's unwavering support to thank for getting her through it without falling apart. He really had been a rock for her in every way imaginable, and she felt even closer to him as a result. She loved him with all her heart, she knew that for certain now.

He had even dealt with the inevitable questions from their travel buddies when they had all reunited on the tour bus. Since the group had all known Seth was going to New York to do the Today show, and had then seen Hunter on the show instead, mentioning Seth having a family emergency, questions were only natural. Seth had felt it necessary to lie to them, saying a family member had been taken ill, but was doing better now.

After arriving at the arena for Smackdown, Zelina had been summoned to see Hunter Helmsley. She knew Seth had told him what she had been through, so she expected he wanted to check in with her to make doubly sure she was okay to work. She would honestly rather have just gotten on with her job without talking about the attack, but she knew Hunter was only trying to be a responsible boss.

"Come in," Hunter called out when she knocked on his door.

Zelina opened the door and entered the office. "Hi, Hunter. You wanted to see me?"

The boss waited until she had closed the door before speaking. He also gestured for her to take a seat in front of his desk. "I did. First off, I wanted to make sure you're okay? Seth told me by text that you wanted to go on working as normal, but I don't want you to feel pressured to do so. If you need time to…"

"I'm fine to work, Hunter," she cut in politely. "I appreciate your concern, but I'd rather be on the road with Seth and enjoying my job than stuck at home with nothing to do and no one for company."

He nodded. "Fair enough. I won't go on about it anymore. If you do need something, though, you can always come to me or call me."

"Thank you," Zelina said sincerely.

"Now, I wasn't going to go into this with you yet," Hunter said, moving the conversation on. "However, I thought tonight might be a night where you could use some good news."

"Good news is always welcome," she said with a smile.

"As you know, you're going to be in the ring with Renee at Payback. I can tell you now that we don't intend it to be a one-time thing for you. We want to be using you in the ring on a more regular basis, as we already have plans in place for you for the following pay-per-view, which is Money in the Bank."

It was surprising, yet brilliant news for Zelina. She had hoped that the angle with Renee would go over well enough for the higher-ups to consider giving her more time in the ring. Now she had learned that were going to do that anyway, even before she wrestled Renee. "Can I ask what the next angle is?"

"I can't go into that at the moment. I just wanted to let you know we have very high hopes for you in the ring as a wrestler as well as a manager. You've done very well so far in getting heat on yourself and the rest of the cartel. Personally, I see you as one of our fastest-rising stars at the moment. Both Vince and I want to see you go to the next level in the coming months."

"Well, thank you," she said with real appreciation, feeling humbled by his kind words. "It means a lot to hear you say those things. I won't let you down."

Hunter nodded. "I know you won't. You can go, unless there's anything else?"

"No, nothing else," she said politely, getting up to leave. Once she got out into the hallway, her mind was going a mile a minute. Hunter's particular choice of words when he had described her as one of the company's fastest rising stars had lodged in her head, and she now remembered where she had seen that particular wording before. It had been the title of the dirt sheet article she had seen written about her not long after The Vega Cartel had formed. Back then, she had dismissed it as the author being ridiculous, but now she had to question that assessment. After all, the author in question was one of those considered the most reputable. Now she had to wonder if the article had been based on opinion at all, or on something that had been picked up from Hunter himself. Either way, she now had it straight from the horse's mouth that she was viewed in such a way by the management. It was an enormous deal for her, and she couldn't wait to tell Seth.

On her way back to the women's locker room, she allowed herself to consider what the plan was that Hunter couldn't go into yet. The creative team had something lined up for her, and given what he had said about her potential, she had to assume it was something more significant than a match with Renee Young. Maybe she would be tagging with Bayley, her cartel teammate? That would make sense, and it would be a hell of a lot of fun.

Whatever the new angle was, she couldn't wait to get started with it. But first, there was the existing one with Renee, which also worked into the angle with Stephanie McMahon. Both of those would develop further on the show that night, so she knew it was important to focus and not get ahead of herself.

* * *

_Tuesday Night Smackdown – May 15th 2018_

Smackdown began with an announcement from ring announcer Greg Hamilton. "Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the commissioner of Tuesday Night Smackdown, Stephanie McMahon!"

To a generous ovation, Stephanie's music began to play and she walked out onto the stage and marched towards the ring, looking all business.

"Welcome to Tuesday Night Smackdown. I'm Renee Young, alongside Jonathan Coachman and Corey Graves. Gentlemen, Stephanie looks to be in a very determined mood tonight."

"Determined is one word you could use," Graves said. "Or you could say unhappy. I would be unhappy too, if I was running a show and I had one of my commentators out here busting open one of superstars by slamming their head into a steel cage."

"You did do that last week, Renee," Coach said. "You attacked Zelina Vega, and you did a real number on her."

"Yeah, well, there's only so much abuse a person can take. Vega pushed me past my limit by shoving me down last week, and she got what was coming to her. I make no apology for it. If she hadn't put her hands on me, on wouldn't have put my hands on her. And let's not forget that she also slapped me the week before, without me retaliating."

"I still think you have a lot of explaining to do," Graves said grumpily.

Stephanie was now in the ring ready to speak, and her music had just faded out. Unlike most times she opened a show, she didn't waste time on a ceremonial welcome for the audience. Wasting no time at all, she got straight down to business. "As most of you have probably seen by now, WWE's board of directors announced yesterday afternoon that at the next board meeting, a vote of confidence will be held regarding my leadership of Tuesday Night Smackdown." She paused for a moment while some of the fans booed that fact. "The board have stated that the result of the vote will be announced on May 26th, at the Payback pay-per-view. Needless to say, this doesn't make me happy in the least. I have to blame myself, but I also place some blame on Daniel Bryan. Thanks to our past differences, he hasn't made it easy for me to come to Tuesday nights and try to get things running smoothly. Most of all, though, the person I blame for engineering this no confidence motion is Zelina Vega."

"How did I know that was coming?" Graves asked sarcastically while the fans loudly booed Vega's name. "It's about time McMahon started accepting responsibility for her own failings instead of trying to blame the person who pointed them out."

"Ever since I made the mistake of bringing Zelina Vega and Seth Rollins to Smackdown, she has been a thorn in my side," Stephanie went on. "She has openly stated her objective to have me ousted as Smackdown's commissioner, in the hope that she can step in as my replacement. It's an attempted power grab of the very worst kind, and this is how she intends to bring it about; by taking the coward's way out and trying to get the board of directors to do her dirty work for her. I guess we can expect nothing less from Vega, who doesn't have the guts to stand up to me directly."

"Vega is a coward. That's exactly what I said," Renee commented. "And she's also a bully."

"Yet, what did we see last week?" Stephanie asked. "Suddenly, Zelina wanted to stand up to somebody; to bully somebody."

Renee said, "Like I just said."

"Zelina thought she could get away with literally pushing Renee Young around. I guess she was proven wrong, since Renee attacked her and slammed her face first into the side of a steel cage, busting her wide open."

The fans cheered loudly, then broke out into a "Yes!" chant.

"These people are sick," Graves complained. "You could have seriously injured Zelina, Renee."

"Could have," Renee agreed indifferently.

"Frankly, I agree with you," Stephanie said to the crowd. "On a personal level, no one was happier than me to see Vega get some of what she had coming to her. However, as I just mentioned, my positon as commissioner is now under review, which means I have no alternative but to take action in regard to what happened last week." She turned to face the commentary table. "Renee, come up here and join me in the ring."

"I wouldn't be surprised if she fires you," Graves said, clearly hoping for exactly that outcome.

Renee was shown on the screen, removing her headset and leaving the commentary table. She walked up the ring steps and got into the ring, still not looking repentant over what she had done to Zelina.

"And I also want you out here, Vega," Stephanie said, turning to face the screen. That order was issued with more venom behind it than the one to Renee had been. After a moment of pause, Stephanie snapped. "Come on, Zelina. Get out here now!"

"Oh, man," Coach said. "Stephanie isn't taking prisoners tonight."

"She should be careful what she wishes for. If Zelina comes out…" Graves was cut off by the theme music for The Vega Cartel hitting.

"Here we go," Coach said.

When Zelina walked out onto the stage, to the usual hostile reception, two things were immediately noteworthy. One was that she had Bayley beside her, the other being the fact that she had a large plaster stuck on the top right of her forehead.

"Look at that!" Graves objected. "Look what that idiot Renee did! Even a week later, Zelina is still having to walk around with a plaster on her head. How embarrassing that must be for her."

In the ring, Stephanie was shown having a private little smile at the sight, while Renee didn't try and hide her pleasure at all.

"I don't know why Bayley is coming out here," Coach said. "I don't remember hearing anyone mention her name."

"Bayley is the Smackdown Women's Champion, Coach. She can go wherever she wants."

Zelina and Bayley entered the ring, and the production crew got a zoomed in shot of Vega's face on the big screen so that everyone in the arena could clearly see the plaster on her head. It brought a cheer as the cartel's music faded. Zelina glared around at the fans with real venom, knowing exactly what they were reacting to. Her reaction did her no favours, as they quickly came up with an original chant to fit the occasion. "You got fucked up!" started to echo around the arena.

"Oh, man," Coach said.

"Shut your mouths!" Zelina quickly yelled at them, wanting to cut the non-PG chant off. It worked, with a loud volley of boos coming her way.

"That's some plaster you've got there, Vega," Stephanie said, unable not to laugh about it.

"Yeah, you laugh it up, McMahon," Zelina snarled, while Bayley looked furious at the treatment her boss was receiving. "Every time you come out here, you're just providing me with more evidence of your incompetence and lack of professionalism. And you wonder why the board of directors have no confidence in you? I'm surprised they're waiting to announce a decision until Payback. Personally, I'd throw you out right now. You have no control over the people who work for you, just like Kurt Angle over on Raw."

The fans booed again, predictably taking Stephanie's side in the argument.

"Then I guess it's a good thing you don't make the decisions around here, isn't it?" McMahon fired back. "Until I'm told otherwise, that's my job. And that's why I called you out here. I don't remember asking Bayley to join you, but I guess you felt like you needed some protection from Renee after last week?"

While the crowd laughed at Zelina's expense, Renee gave another smile and Bayley sent some angry words in Stephanie's direction, not that they had any impact.

"When I watched Renee slam you into that steel cage and saw you lying there on the floor with your face covered in blood and a look of fear in your eyes, I found myself thinking back to a comment Renee herself made a few weeks ago. She said she would like to see me put you, Zelina, in a match. On reflection, I think that's actually a good idea."

"Now wait a minute," Graves objected while Zelina was shown, suddenly with a very concerned expression on her face. "Zelina Vega is not a wrestler."

"It sounds like she will be soon," Coach countered.

Stephanie took great pleasure in making the rest of her announcement. "So, that's exactly what I'm going to do. In two weeks, at Payback, Zelina, you are going to compete in a match. And what better opponent to put in the ring with you than the woman who left you battered and bloody last week, Renee Young?"

The crowd cheered that announcement. Renee looked about as happy as they were, walking towards Zelina in an attempt to get in her face, until Bayley stepped in the way. Zelina had already backed off towards the ropes, looking like she wanted no part of the woman who had already split her head open once.

"McMahon has lost it!" Graves objected. "Zelina Vega is not a wrestler. This is taking personal differences way too far."

"Why are you complaining, Corey? You say Vega isn't a wrestler; last time I checked, neither is Renee Young. There's bad blood between the two ladies, so I say let them fight it out and settle their differences. Renee certainly seems up for it."

Unable to get to her soon-to-be opponent, Renee took Stephanie's microphone. "What's the matter, Vega?" she demanded. "Don't you feel like pushing me around anymore? You really are a typical bully, aren't you? As soon as someone hits you back, you get scared and run away. Well, it's appropriate that we're going to meet at an event called Payback, because I've only just started getting payback for what you've done to me. I notice you've suddenly got nothing to say for yourself?"

Bayley stepped over to Zelina and took her microphone. She then squared back up to Renee. "I wouldn't be so confident if I was you, Renee. You might have managed to hurt Zelina last week, but you did it by attacking her from behind. Zelina is not a wrestler, which makes your decision making awful as usual, Stephanie, but we've got two weeks until Payback. I'm going to use those two weeks to help Zelina train. I'm going to get her ready to destroy you, Young. I'm going to create a monster, and I'm going to unleash that monster on you."

Bayley dropped her microphone, and she and Zelina quickly left the ring with their music playing. The boss of The Vega Cartel seemed to have found some confidence in Bayley's words, and sent some parting words in Renee's direction from the bottom of the entrance ramp.

"Zelina Vega and Renee Young will go one on one at Payback," Coach said. "That might sound unbelievable, but you did hear correctly. Vega and Young meet in two weeks."

Graves came right back at him. "What I heard correctly was what Bayley said. She's going to spend the next two weeks turning Zelina Vega into a monster, and that monster is going to eat Renee Young alive. Coach, we're going to need a new commentator to sit in between us by the time Payback is over."

"We'll see about that in two weeks."


	35. Chapter 35

It was Friday night, two days before the Payback pay-per-view. Seth and Zelina were in Orlando, making the most of the fact they were not working by enjoying some quality time together. They had just returned home after a night out at what she had described as her favourite restaurant.

"Thank you so much for taking me there, Seth," she said as they settled down on one of the couches in their living room. "I'm so glad you enjoyed it too. I knew you would."

Seth put an arm around her and sighed as they cuddled up to each other. "I really did. Honestly, it was the company that made the night."

She chuckled. "I love it when you're corny. It's cute."

"I do my best," Seth grinned. He sighed contentedly, and they lapsed into a comfortable, happy silence, simply enjoying holding each other.

As had often been the case since she had been attacked by David Hernandez, Seth's mind drifted to thinking about how well she was coping with it. The night terrors were still a problem, though. She would wake up panicked and sweating, but he was always there to take her in his arms and remind her that it was all okay. David was gone, and he would never get near her again.

He also occasionally found her with that blank, distant look on her face. He knew that look meant she had bad memories of that afternoon running through her mind, so whenever he saw it, he would hold her and comfort her. It always seemed to work.

She wasn't the only one those moments happened to, though. Seth also experienced them from time to time. For him, it was usually a mental replay of the moment he had walked into her bedroom and found it exactly the way it had been after Dan Morton had rescued Zelina. Every time that image came to him, it made his blood run cold, not only thinking about what she had gone through in that room, but what even worse fate might have awaited her if she hadn't been rescued.

What he found astonishing was the fact that Zelina had the strength to be there for him in those moments, if she picked up on them. She would hug him and say something like, "It's okay, baby, I'm here." It was that strength they showed for each other that made him feel like their relationship was unbreakable. This wasn't something that would last a few months then fade away; this was the real thing. This was true love.

"Are you okay, baby?" she asked. He hadn't noticed that she had turned to look at him.

"Yeah," he smiled.

"You sure?"

"Yeah. I was thinking about how strong we are together, and..." He stopped himself, not sure if he should put the rest of his thoughts into words.

"And what?" she encouraged.

Seth decided to go for it. "I was going to say I think we're so strong together, we're unbreakable."

"We really are," she agreed, looking adoringly into his eyes. "I was actually thinking something similar this morning. I've pretty much made a decision that I need to talk to you about. I've been waiting for the right time to talk to you about it. I guess this is it."

What decision?" he asked openly, since she had made it clear that it was something good.

"I want to sell my house. I want to live here with you. I want it to be our house - our home."

"There's nothing I want more than that," he assured her without needing to think about it. He gently pulled her to him and they kissed passionately.

"Seth?" she asked after the kiss, her voice shaking at little.

"What?" he asked, giving her another peck on the lips.

"We've not had sex since... you know. I want you to make love to me, baby. I want my man to make love to me. I feel like I need it."

If anything showed Seth that she trusted him unconditionally, this was it. He knew he would have to be gentle and patient with her. Even before the attack, their love making had started out that way, until she had built up trust with him. Now, even though the trust was there, they were back to square one, if not worse.

"Let's go up to bed," he suggested softly. "We've got all night, since there's nothing to get up for in the morning."

"I need you be patient with me," she said, her voice breaking a little.

"I know, muñeca. I already thought that. Don't worry, we've got all night."

With one more kiss, Seth got up and offered her his hand. She took it and he helped to pull her up. She gave no indication of wanting to be picked up and carried to the bedroom, so he followed her out of the room and up the stairs.

* * *

Breathless, Seth allowed himself to flop onto the bed beside her after their lovemaking. It had gone exactly as he had imagined: slowly, carefully, tenderly, and most importantly, lovingly. Even so, after a moment, he heard her crying softly.

"Oh, Seth," she blurted out, then the tears came properly.

"It's okay, babe," Seth said, quickly putting an arm round her in an attempt to comfort her. His words were pathetically inadequate for the amount of pain he heard in her sobs, but he didn't know what else he could say.

Zelina turned to face him and grabbed him in a tight embrace, almost holding on to him for dear life. All of the raw, horrendous emotions caused by the attack had been brought to the surface again, making Seth wonder if they had rushed into sleeping together too soon, before she was actually ready.

"How can one man be so perfect, and another be such an evil bastard?" she asked through her tears.

"He's not a man, he's vermin," Seth said coldly. "But he's out of your life for good this time, and I'm here with you. I'll always be here with you."

"Promise me that," she pleaded. "I never want to be without you, Seth. I couldn't do it. You're my rock. I can only get through this with you here to help me."

With his other hand, Seth stroked her hair. "You're never going to be without me. I promise you that more faithfully than anything I've ever promised anything before."

Zelina sobbed again, but Seth detected a note of relief in it now. "Just hold me. Just hold me."

And he did. He would have laid in that position all night if that was what she needed, but within a couple of minutes, emotionally exhausted, she had fallen asleep.

* * *

Seth was startled awake by a terrified scream and Zelina flying up into a sitting position bed beside him. She was breathing very rapidly, panicking.

"Zelina, it's okay," he said, hurriedly sitting up to comfort her. This was not the first time she had experienced a night terror since David's attack. However, he could tell by how much she was shaking that it had been one of the worst so far.

"I thought he was going to kill me," she gasped, wide-eyed.

"He's not, babe. He's not here. You're at home, with me," Seth said, gently putting an arm around her shoulders.

"He had a knife to my throat. I could feel it digging into me."

That was new information for Seth. She had only tried to tell him about what had happened on that fateful afternoon once, and had broken down before getting as far as being rescued by Dan and Laura Morton. His blood boiled at the thought of that piece of shit Hernandez holding a knife to his girl's throat, but he couldn't let his rage show. That wasn't what she needed from him. If she wanted to try and tell him the rest of the story, he had to suck up his own emotions and let her do it. He figured it was logical that being able to tell him about it would be part of the healing process she had to go through. "Why did he do that?" he asked, somehow managing to encourage her to go on.

"Because he figured out I wouldn't leave you for him," she said, her breathing slowing to something closer to a normal rate now that she knew she wasn't in danger, safe in his embrace. She shifted over slightly to nestle against him. "That was what he wanted me to tell him. I feel awful because I did try and tell him that. I obviously didn't mean it, but I thought I had to tell him what he wanted to hear if I was going to have any chance at getting free. He saw through it and realised I was lying. That's when he really lost it. He was calling me a liar, a whore, all kinds of nasty things. He put the knife to my throat and said he ought to kill me right there and then. I was begging for my life."

Feeling her shaking in fear at the memory, Seth closed his eyes. It seemed that every time he thought about David, he imagined himself killing the guy. Even so, he had never wanted to do it as much as he did in that moment. How would that cowardly, woman-beating shitbag feel if he was unable to defend himself while someone held a knife to his throat?

"I thought I was going to die, Seth," she croaked, tears flowing down her cheeks.

"I can't imagine how scared you must have been," Seth said, holding her tightly and resting his chin on top of her head in a further comforting gesture.

She carried on speaking, not reacting to him. He sensed she was focused only on telling her story, so he told himself to be quiet and let her get it all out.

"He said he couldn't kill me because he had to be with me. It was so scary. It was like he was trying to decide between cutting my throat or abducting me. I pictured myself tied up in some basement somewhere, with him coming down there and raping me whenever he felt like it."

"Jesus Christ," Seth muttered involuntarily.

"He made me lie still while he taped my mouth up again. I couldn't talk. I could barely breathe. I was panicked I think I was close to passing out. I guess that's why I can't remember what he was saying at that point. But he got up and cut the tape he had put around my ankles. I knew he was going to rape me. He cut my underwear off me with his knife."

Seth was seething inside, but outwardly, he kept himself in check.

"Then I heard someone knocking on my front door," she went on. "David heard it too, of course. He grabbed the knife again and told me not to make a sound. Then I heard Dan call my name. I realised that if I didn't get him to hear me then, I would have missed my one chance at being rescued. I remember thinking David would eventually kill me one way or another, so if it was going to happen, I might as well get it over with. I screamed as loud as I could, but I still wasn't sure if Dan would hear me because of the tape. Then I heard him trying to kick the door in. David screamed at me that I was a stupid bitch, but he didn't hurt me. He just ran out of the room with the knife. I was afraid for Dan, but there was nothing I could do to help him."

"Then you must have heard Laura smash that lamp over his head," Seth said, having already heard that part of the story from Laura herself.

"Yes. Then Dan came upstairs to rescue me. I think that's when my panic attack must have really taken hold, because I don't remember much after that. I know the paramedics sedated me as soon as they showed up because of the state I was in. But I didn't give up, Seth. I did everything I could to fight for myself. I just wanted to survive, so that I could see you again."

Those final few words reduced both of them to tears. Not for the first time since the attack, they sought comfort in each other, devastated by what had happened, but also relieved that it hadn't been so much worse.

"The cops said they wanted me to testify at David's trial," Zelina reminded him after a while.

"I know they did. But you don't have to if you don't want to," he replied cautiously, knowing full well that if she testified, she would be subject to cross examination from David's defence council, and that would be a savage process.

Zelina wriggled out of his arms so that she could look him in the eye. "That's the thing; I do want to. I want to help put that bastard away for what he did to me. I should have done it the first time he assaulted me. This time, I'm doing everything I can to make sure he gets the strongest possible punishment."

Hearing the sheer determination in her voice, Seth wasn't going to try to dissuade her. David deserved the death penalty as far as he was concerned. Since that wasn't actually an option, he had to get a long time behind bars. Zelina's testimony would be the strongest evidence to make that happen. "Then I'm here with you, every step of the way," he promised.

"I know you are, baby. That's why I love you so much."


	36. Chapter 36

_WWE Payback – May 27th 2018_

Jonathan Coachman's voice was the first to be heard when the Smackdown-exclusive pay-per-view went live, while the crowd were shown cheering the start of the show. "Hello and welcome to WWE Payback! I'm Jonathan Coachman, alongside Corey Graves. And tonight, we have a special guest commentator. Welcome, Michael Cole."

"Thanks, Coach," Cole said. "I'm standing in for Renee Young, who is going to be in action later tonight when she meets Zelina Vega. Gentleman, that one is not going to pretty."

"No it's not," Graves agreed. "Neither of those ladies are wrestlers, but they do hate each other. What we're going to see is a fight, and I think it's going to get ugly for Renee Young."

While he was finishing his final sentence, Daniel Bryan's music hit, starting the fans cheering again.

"We're kicking off with Daniel Bryan," Cole said. "It was announced earlier tonight on WWE dot com and on Twitter that Smackdown's general manager has been instructed to announce the result of the vote of no confidence in Stephanie McMahon's leadership that was held this past Friday."

"That's right," Coach said while Bryan yessed his way down the entrance ramp. "That man right there knows the answer to the question we've all been asking: Is Stephanie McMahon still the commissioner of Tuesday Night Smackdown?"

"I know which answer I'm hoping for," Graves said. "It's time we saw the back of McMahon and her reign of chaos. In my opinion, Zelina Vega is the best candidate for the top job. Look at what she's been able to do with The Vega Cartel in just a matter of a couple of months. They hold every major title on Smackdown."

"You want to replace what you describe as a reign of chaos with what would undoubtedly be a reign of tyranny?" Coach asked.

Graves didn't respond because Bryan was ready to speak in the ring. "Welcome to Payback!" he said excitedly, drawing another cheer. "We've got an amazing show lined up for you tonight, bringing you the top quality matches that only Tuesday Night Smackdown can offer. But before we can get the action underway, I have the duty of making an announcement."

"So get on with it," Graves said dryly.

"As most of you will be aware, WWE's board of directors met on Friday, with the top item on the agenda being a vote of no confidence in our commissioner, Stephanie McMahon."

A mixture of cheers and boos could be heard. Presumably the cheers were for Stephanie's name and the boos for the no confidence vote.

Meanwhile, for the audience at home, a shot appeared on the screen of a plush locker room where the entire Vega Cartel were sitting on leather couches, watching proceedings on a flat screen TV. Zelina seemed to be hanging on every word, for obvious reasons.

"There we see The Vega Cartel, who have, let's say a vested interest in this announcement," Cole said.

Bryan went on, "I was sent an instruction by the board to come out here tonight and announce the result of the vote, which will determine if Stephanie continues in her role with the full backing of the office back in Stamford, or if she will be relieved of her position with immediate effect."

A chant of "Steph!" began, quickly growing in volume. It was obvious which outcome the fans desired.

Dragging out the announcement to build anticipation, Daniel waited for them to quiet down before continuing. "I can tell you now that a unanimous decision was not made. However, by a majority verdict, the vote determined that Stephanie McMahon..." he let his voice trail off to build even more anticipation.

"Say it!" Graves demanded.

"Will continue as commissioner of Tuesday Night Smackdown!"

"Yes!" Coach exclaimed, while the crowd went wild.

As soon as Bryan revealed the outcome, the cartel locker room was shown. All of the members were voicing their anger in the direction of the TV, apart from Zelina. She was just sitting there, absolutely seething.

"Look at Vega!" Graves said. "She's livid with that decision!"

"Oh, boo hoo," Coach said dismissively.

"Therefore," Daniel said, "Please welcome our commissioner, Stephanie McMahon!"

"Listen to this ovation!" Cole called out when the boss's music hit and she walked out onto the stage, raising her arms in celebration. "Gentlemen, I have to say that, speaking as something of an outsider, I think the board made the correct decision to show faith in Stephanie."

"No one cares what you think, Cole," Graves said heatedly.

Stephanie had wasted no time getting down to the ring, and was already prepared to speak. But before she could, Daniel spoke up. "Before you say anything, Steph, there's something I'd like to say to you."

Raising her eyebrows slightly, Stephanie nevertheless looked open to hearing him out.

"This whole no confidence vote has acted as something of a wakeup call to me. If you had been voted out of office, Zelina Vega would have been left as the most likely candidate to succeed you, and that's something no one wants to see," he added over a volley of boos directed at Vega.

"So what are you saying?" Stephanie prompted.

"I'm saying that I've come to the realisation that it's time to put our past differences, however great they might have been, behind us. We need to function as a management team, and our aim needs to be to take down The Vega Cartel. I offer you my full support, if you'll give me the same in return."

As Bryan extended his hand, the crowd erupted into a "Yes!" chant, trying to encourage McMahon to accept the new alliance. She looked around at the fans, trying to make up her mind.

"That's mighty big of Daniel Bryan," Coach opined.

Slowly, nodding her approval, Stephanie extended her hand and took Daniel's, to a rapturous response.

"They're shaking hands!" Cole called out. "McMahon and Bryan are on the same page! What does this mean for The Vega Cartel?"

"I can't honestly say this is how I expected things to play out," Stephanie said over the top of the raucous atmosphere. "But, Daniel, you're exactly right. There is a common enemy we need to fight, and that is Zelina Vega and her cartel." She looked right into the camera. "There's an expression, if you want to kill a snake, cut off it's head. So, Vega, all I have to say to you is, your hostile takeover bid has failed. And now that it has, I wouldn't want to be in your shoes come Tuesday night, because I'm going to show you what a commissioner can do when she puts her mind to it. You're going to wish you'd never even thought about signing for Smackdown."

"I don't like the sound of that at all," Graves said as Stephanie dropped her microphone to the mat. Her music hit and the now united management team left the ring.

The cartel locker room was shown again, now in total uproar. Everyone was on their feet, shouting about how ridiculous the board's decision was and arguing with each other over what should be done about it. Zelina was the only quiet one, staring at the TV, her face dark with rage.

"Vega looks like she's about to have a meltdown," Coach said. "She'd better hope her cartel doesn't suffer the same fate. Samoa Joe and Bobby Roode defend their Smackdown Tag Team Championships against The Bludgeon Brothers tonight, Bayley defends her Smackdown Women's Championship against Carmella, and Seth Rollins defends the WWE Championship against Finn Balor and AJ Styles in a triple threat match. It could all easily slip away from Vega tonight."

"That's not going to happen," Graves insisted.

* * *

Young vs Vega was the third match on the card. After the promo package to recap their rivalry, Renee was shown walking along a hallway, on her way to Gorilla. She was wearing red and white ring attire – the colours of the Canadian flag. There was a very determined expression on her face.

"There's Renee Young, on her way out here for her first ever wrestling match," Cole said.

She looks ready. She looks focused," Coach added. "You've got to hand it to her, she's got guts."

"What she doesn't have is a brain," Graves countered. "She has to be crazy to get in a ring with Zelina Vega. This could be a massacre."

"Tell that to the steel cage Vega got her head bounced off of," Coach chuckled. "Besides, Vega has no more experience in a wrestling ring than Young."

The shot changed back to the arena as Renee neared Gorilla. She had been given some entrance music and a video package shortly after getting the commentary job, so it was recognisable to some when it began to play. She got quite a pop from the fans, probably helped by the fact that she was about to go at it with the hated Zelina Vega.

"There's only one thing I fear about this match, Cole," Graves said as Renee walked out onto the stage.

"What's that?"

"If Zelina beats Renee to a pulp, we might get stuck with you every week."

Coach had to laugh at that, but he quickly covered himself. "Honestly, it's no laughing matter. Young and Vega genuinely despise each other. I think this is going to get nasty."

As Renee approached the ring, Greg Hamilton made his announcement. "This contest is scheduled for one fall." He ignored the fans repeating him. "Introducing first, from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Renee Young!"

Cole said, "I think a lot of these fans would like to be in Renee's position right now. They would like to take a shot at Vega themselves."

Graves snorted derisively. "Zelina's said it many times: the fans are idiots. What they, and you, should remember is what Bayley said two weeks ago. She promised to create a monster out of Vega and unleash that monster on Renee Young."

"We'll soon see how much that promise was worth," Cole said as Renee's music faded out.

The shot changed to a different hallway than the one Renee had been in. Zelina was walking towards the arena alone, wearing black leather ring gear with gold trim – Vega Cartel colours. There could be no doubt she was in great shape, and she looked ready for a fight, spurred on by her anger at Stephanie managing to keep her job.

"Look at Zelina!" Graves cried in awe. "Bayley said she would create a monster! Look at Vega's physique, Coach. How do like your girl Renee's chances now?"

"It's the look on Vega's face that worries me. Renee might be in the wrong place at the wrong time here."

"But don't forget Young already left Vega a bloody mess once," Cole countered as the shot returned to the arena.

The cartel's theme hit a moment later, to a venomous crowd response. "Here we go!" Graves enthused.

Zelina was all business, marching to the ring without posing on the ramp as she usually did. Hamilton had to be quick with his announcement. "And her opponent, from Queens, New York, Zelina Vega!" More boos rained down.

"To say the least, a hostile reaction for Vega," Cole said. "But I honestly don't think she cares. One thing we do know is Young needs to stay away from the spike hurracanrana. If Zelina hit's that, it'll be over."

Zelina rolled into the ring, looking like she was going to go right after Renee, but the referee made sure to stop her, wanting to start the match properly. He only called for the bell once they had backed off into opposite corners.

"And we're underway," Cole said after the bell rang.

Renee immediately charged towards Zelina, who hit the mat and rolled out of the ring under the bottom rope. The crowd were right on her back for the cowardly act.

"There's the Vega I'm used to seeing," Coach said with distaste.

Zelina waved off Renee and sauntered around the corner of the ring, intending to take her sweet time getting back in there. Renee, however, was having none of it. She bailed out of the ring herself and ran after Vega. Seeing her opponent coming, Zelina took off running.

"Young chasing Vega down at ringside," Cole said. "Zelina Vega is running from Renee Young!"

Zelina completed a lap of the ring then rolled back in under the bottom rope. Renee followed, but Vega was up on her feet, ready and waiting.

"That's the Vega I'm used to seeing," Graves said, mocking Coach as Zelina started mercilessly stomping on Renee's back. "Always at least one step ahead of everyone else. She sucked Young in, now look at her go!"

In an extraordinary scene, Zelina stood there frantically stomping the crap out of Renee for well over thirty seconds, angering the crowd to an extraordinary level. When she finally stopped, she was breathing heavily with the effort that she had put into the vicious beat down. She raised an arm in triumph, rubbing her dominance in the fan's faces.

"The fans are all over Vega here," Cole said over the nasty booing.

"She's got them in the palm of her hand," Graves said. "And look at Renee, she's done already. Just pin her and get this ridiculous charade over with. To think people thought she would stand a chance," he scoffed.

Renee was indeed struggling after the kicking she had taken. She rolled back under the rope, hitting the floor like a wet blanket.

Finished with toying with the crowd for now, Zelina exited the ring and picked Renee up. Launching into a run, she hurled her opponent back first into the ringside barricade.

"Come on, Renee!" Zelina shouted at the Canadian, who lay crumbled up on the floor. "I thought you were going to get payback?" She delivered a savage kick to Renee's side.

"Oh, man," Coach said. "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. We might all have gotten a bit carried away after the cage incident."

"You think?" Graves asked sarcastically.

Zelina had picked Renee up again. She repeated the same move, tossing Young into the barricade at the next corner of the ring, closer to the commentary position. "Where's my payback, Renee?" she screamed.

The referee was out there with them, repeatedly telling Zelina to take it in the ring, not that he stood much chance of being listened to. Vega picked Young up and again and led her over to the commentary table.

"Oh!" Cole shouted when Renee's head was banged onto the top of the table. All of the commentators got to their feet.

"This is where you're supposed to sit!" Zelina shouted at Renee, slamming her head into the table again.

"You're just a commentator!"

Slam.

"But you had to get in my face, didn't you?"

Slam.

"You thought you could beat me!"

Slam.

"Well this is what you get!"

Slam.

Zelina let Renee fall to the floor, looking totally destroyed. Satisfied with herself, she walked around behind the commentary table and snatched Coach's headset off him and shoved him aside so that she could stand in front of his chair.

"Why don't you get in the ring?" Cole demanded of her.

"Shut your mouth," she snapped at him. "What I'm doing right now is showing exactly what happens to anyone who gets on the wrong side of Zelina Vega or The Vega Cartel. We already saw Samoa Joe and Bobby Roode retain their titles in the previous match. Later, we'll see Bayley and Seth Rollins do the same."

"What about the announcement that Stephanie McMahon is still the commissioner of Smackdown?" Graves asked her.

"I'm talking, Corey. Shut up and listen and you might learn something."

"Sorry," he said humbly.

"Stephanie McMahon can make all the threats she wants. The fact of the matter is, I will win this stupid so-called match she put me in, my cartel will all retain their titles tonight, and one way or another, in due course, I will force McMahon out of office, and I will become the commissioner of Tuesday Night Smackdown."

"Speaking of the match, any chance you might go and compete in it?" Cole asked, risking some sarcasm.

Zelina looked over towards the ring, where Renee was trying to use the ring apron to pull herself up. "Don't worry, Cole, I'm a long way from finished with her yet." She tore the headset off and slammed it into Coach's chest.

"What's she doing now?" Cole demanded.

Zelina had taken the monitor cover off the table and thrown it aside. She proceeded to take the monitors out of the table and throw them aside also. Walking over to her opponent, who was still struggling to get up, she resumed shouting. "That's a nice commentary table, Renee! Sadly, I'm going to have to ruin it!"

After dragging Young over to the table, Vega lifted her on top of it, then climbed up there herself.

"This is going to be the end of Renee Young," Graves said as the commentary team hurried away from the table.

Zelina had Renee in position to deliver a powerbomb through the table, but before she could attempt it, Renee found life from somewhere and broke out. Taken by surprise, Vega didn't react quickly enough. Young kicked her in the stomach and delivered a DDT, collapsing the table in the process. The fans erupted as Graves screamed in horror.

"Vega just went head first through our commentary table!" Coach shouted, now back on the air.

"Both women are down," Cole said. "Our table is in pieces. It's carnage out here!"

"Forget the damn table!" Graves shouted. "We need help out here for Zelina Vega! She could have a concussion! She could have a broken neck!"

Seeing the remains of Vega on the big screen, lying among the table wreckage flat on her back with her eyes closed, the fans were chanting, "Yes!" But their cheers turned to boos when a crew of medical personnel hurried down the entrance ramp, bringing a stretcher with them.

"You're going to have to call the match off," Cole said to the referee, who was checking on both women.

Ignoring him, the ref set about helping the medics with Zelina once they arrived on the scene.

"Vega hasn't moved," Graves said quietly, horrified. "This is serious, guys. It's not about whether you like her at this point."

Zelina wasn't moving, but Renee was. Battered and dishevelled, she was still able to get to her feet. She stood there trying to regain her senses after the beating she had taken.

"It looks like they're going to put a neck brace on Vega," Cole said seriously. "You're right, Corey, this looks bad."

To a thunderous reaction, Renee walked over and shoved one of the paramedics out of the way before they could get the neck brace applied, followed by another.

"What are you doing, you idiot?" Graves shouted at her as she tossed the neck brace away and started dragging Zelina towards the ring.

"Renee doesn't care if Vega's hurt," Cole called out. "She came here tonight to get a piece of her, and that's exactly what she's done. Now she wants to beat her."

"Stop the damn match!" Graves shouted at the referee, but the official walked over and got back in the ring as Young shovelled Vega under the bottom rope.

After sliding into the ring, Renee went straight for a cover.

"No! No!" Graves shouted while everyone in the arena joined in with the count.

"One!"

"Two!"

Zelina's shoulder hopped off the canvas at the last moment.

"Yes! She kicked out!" Graves yelled happily, while everyone in the audience signalled their disappointment and surprise.

"I can't believe that," Coach said.

Even though Zelina was still in the match, Renee now had the upper hand, and with it a chance to show what she could do. She spent the next five minutes hitting some well-executed but basic suplexs and slams before setting Vega up for another DDT that would surely be the finishing touch.

However, Zelina countered into a northern lights suplex, leaving both women down.

"What a counter," Graves said. "That was picture perfect by Vega, but who can capitalise?"

The answer was soon clear. Despite the damage she had suffered, Zelina was on her feet first. With Renee kneeling groggily, Vega kicked her square in the face, superkick style.

"Oh! That was brutal," Cole said.

Sensing that the end might be near, the crowd started booing. Zelina waited for Renee to start moving again, then ran and hit the ropes.

"Here it comes! Spike hurracanrana!" Graves yelled as the finishing move connected. "That'll put any woman down."

"Vega for the win," Cole said as she made a cover and hooked Young's leg.

One.

Two.

Three.

The crowd groaned in dissatisfaction, but they were not surprised. Once Zelina had hit the one devastating move she had in her locker, everyone had known the count was academic.

"She did it! Vega wins!" Graves enthused while Zelina celebrated, still holding her neck to sell the injury.

"Renee Young gave it everything she had, and she definitely left her mark on Zelina Vega," Cole said.

Coach added, "Young has every right to feel proud of the performance she gave here tonight."

"Please," Graves countered as the camera focused on Zelina having her hand raised in victory. "Renee's a loser. That woman right there, Zelina Vega, is the one who should be proud. Put into a wrestling match by Stephanie McMahon, despite not being a wrestler, she walks out a winner after bouncing Young's head off the mat like a basket ball. Vega should be proud. I'm proud of her."

Leaving the ring, Zelina had a smug smile on her face.

Coach said, "Let's see if that smile is still on Vega's face Tuesday night. Even if the cartel still have all their gold by then, and that's a big if, I think Stephanie has something up her sleeve that Zelina's not going to like one bit."


	37. Chapter 37

_Tuesday Night Smackdown – May 29th 2018_

After a video package to recap what had happened at Payback, Smackdown went live with Renee Young back on commentary.

"Welcome, everyone, to Tuesday Night Smackdown. Renee Young alongside Jonathan Coachman and Corey Graves."

The Vega Cartel's music hit, firing the crowd up straight away into aggressive booing.

"Here they come!" Graves exclaimed as the team walked through the curtain. "Bobby Roode and Samoa Joe, the Smackdown Tag Team Champions. Bayley, the Smackdown Women's Champion. Seth Rollins, the WWE Champion. And at the front, their leader, the woman who destroyed you at Payback, Renee, Zelina Vega."

"Destroyed," Renee scoffed. "She beat me, Corey. She didn't destroy me."

"That's not how it looked to me when she had your head bouncing off our table like a rubber ball."

"Can we leave the bickering for a moment?" Coach cut in. "We should probably be talking about the fact that, as Corey just described, The Vega Cartel managed to scrape their way out of Payback with their championships intact."

"Barely," Renee grumbled. "Bayley got herself disqualified against Carmella for refusing to break a submission hold, and Seth Rollins managed to steal a pin on Finn Balor after AJ Styles hit him with a Phenomenal Forearm."

"You're either the champion or you're not," Graves said.

The Cartel were in the ring and Bobby had fetched a microphone for Zelina. She had a triumphant announcement to make when their theme music faded out. "I came, I saw, I kicked Renee Young's ass!"

"Yes!" Graves exclaimed, laughing delightedly while the fans howled their displeasure at Vega.

Renee made no comment.

"I did exactly what I said I was going to do at Payback," Zelina went on, then moved over to stand in front of her prize tag team. "Samoa Joe and Bobby Roode did exactly what I said they were going to do." She moved on to Bayley, with the boos still raining down. "Bayley did exactly what I said she was going to do." She moved on to Seth, who was greeted with even louder disapproval. "Seth Rollins did exactly what I said he was going to do. I said they would all leave Payback as champions, and here they stand before you. Get on your feet and applaud them!" she ordered the crowd.

"Yeah, that'll work," Renee said sarcastically over the latest boos.

Looking around the arena with utter contempt, Zelina said, "Just what I'd expect from the inhabitants of a hole like this."

A small group of fans began the second obscene chant in as many weeks to be directed at Zelina, such was the heat she had with the audience. "Fuck you, Vega!" could be faintly heard over the booing. More people began to pick the chant up, and it was soon clearly audible.

Before Zelina could respond, Joe gently took the microphone from her. "Shut the hell up and show some respect!" he roared at the crowd, firing them up even more.

"The atmosphere's getting nasty in here," Coach observed. "The fans utterly despise Zelina Vega and her cartel."

"They're not the only ones," Renee muttered.

Having stopped the excessively abusive chant, Joe deferentially handed the microphone back to Zelina.

"The only piece of bad news at Payback," she continued after a moment, "was that WWE's board of directors inexplicably decided to vote in favour of keeping Stephanie McMahon in her position as Smackdown's commissioner."

The crowd began to cheer, then Stephanie's music hit and they roared their approval.

"Speaking of the commissioner, there she is!" Renee called out as the boss entered the arena. "Stephanie McMahon has the backing of the board of directors, and she has managed to come to terms with Daniel Bryan so that they'll put their differences aside and work together as a management team."

"I was surprised to see that, quite frankly," Coach said. "But it had to be a big boost to Stephanie's hopes of ridding Smackdown of The Vega Cartel. We know that has to be her primary aim."

"McMahon mentioned killing the snake by cutting of it's head," Graves reminded everyone. "That was a direct threat to Zelina Vega, and I admit, I'm concerned by it."

Stephanie entered the ring, immediately being crowded by the cartel members in an attempt to make her feel uncomfortable. "Back off!" she ordered them, not intimidated in the least. "Vega, I'm here to talk directly to you. You can have your little minions stand down, unless you want me to start firing them?"

Zelina gave Stephanie a glare that might have killed a lesser person, but with a simple hand gesture, she had the cartel members step back. They moved around to stand behind their leader. "What do you want, McMahon?" she snarled. "My people jumped through all your little hoops at Payback, and they emerged unscathed. I even wrestled the match you put me in, and won. Yes, you can add being a wrestler to my significant list of accomplishments now," she proclaimed with a sickening level of arrogance.

Stephanie smiled, her eyes gleaming as she wagged her finger in approval of that final sentence. The gesture seemed surprising, at first. "You know, Zelina, I actually agree with you. You were impressive in your match against Renee Young, and you won! You're a WWE superstar now!" The warmth in Stephanie's voice was contrasted by the coldness in her eyes.

"Where's she going with this?" Graves asked warily, while Zelina was shown starting to look a little less sure of herself.

"And you know what that means?" Stephanie went on in that same overly-warm tone. "It means I'm going to put you in another match!" The noise in the crowd rose noticeably.

"Uh oh," Coach said, without any hint of sympathy for Zelina.

Suddenly, the faux warmth vanished from Stephanie's voice, being replaced by cold menace. "You see, you gambled big when you engineered that no confidence vote against me, Zelina. You gambled big, and you lost. I now have the full backing of the board of directors, and that put me in a strong enough position to get on the phone to my brother after Payback and negotiate a trade."

"A trade?" Renee echoed, puzzled.

Zelina now looked openly nervous about whatever news she might be about to get, as did the cartel members behind her. "What are you saying?" she asked cautiously.

"What I'm saying is that you, Zelina, will be competing in three weeks at the Money in the Bank pay-per-view, and your opponent will be Tuesday Night Smackdown's newest signing..." She pointed towards the entrance while a lot of the fans got to their feet in anticipation, all looking in that direction.

Bad Reputation by Joan Jett began to play, sending the crowd into meltdown.

"Oh my God!" Renee screamed in delight. "Stephanie McMahon has signed Ronda Rousey! Rousey and Vega! I can't wait to see that!"

"No. No. This can't be happening," Graves protested.

"It is," Coach confirmed as Ronda strode out onto the stage, to another roar from the crowd. She had her game face on, despite the incredible reaction she had gotten.

Zelina was shown looking like she had seen a ghost, or maybe the Grim Reaper. She was staring at her next opponent in abject horror. Behind her, Seth could be seen with his head in his hands.

"Vega looks like she just wet herself," Renee said gleefully. "In three weeks, she's going to be in the ring with the undefeated Rowdy Ronda Rousey, the baddest woman on the planet!"

Ronda had walked briskly to the ring. She stepped through the ropes and accepted Stephanie's offer of a handshake while Zelina backed away between Seth and Bayley, literally hiding behind her cartel.

"Where's Zelina gone?" Stephanie asked after Ronda's music faded, pretending she couldn't see her. "Oh, there she is. It's okay, Zelina, you can come out," she said as if she was talking to a scared cat hiding under a bed. "Ronda's not going to hit you, are you, Ronda?"

Ronda shook her head to confirm she would not, so Zelina reluctantly stepped forward again, still looking terrified. The cartel members looked ready to jump in and save her at the first inkling of any violence.

The crowd cheered as Rousey took a step closer to Vega. The difference in both height and physique between the two women was stark. Loving the idea of the match that Stephanie had announced, the fans started chanting, "Ronda's gonna kill you!"

"These people are sick," Graves objected strongly.

"They're just stating a fact," Renee countered smugly. "Vega's going to get what's coming to her this time. It's fantastic!"

"Oh, there's just one more thing I forgot to mention," Stephanie said once the fans had settled down a bit. "I said that it will be Zelina Vega versus Ronda Rousey at Money in the Bank, but I forgot to say that it will be a lion's den match."

The crowd erupted again as Coach shouted, "Vega locked in the lion's den with Rowdy Ronda Rousey? That's legalised murder!"

"Zelina, think of something, quick," Graves pleaded.

In a state on panic, the cartel had defensively surrounded Zelina. They appeared to trying to convince her to refuse the match, although Stephanie had presented it as an order, not an option.

"I don't know what the debate is about," Renee said. "Vega's not going to be able to talk her way out of this one. The match has been made."

While the discussion continued, Stephanie and Ronda were shown glancing at each other with quizzical expressions on their faces.

Vega was laying the law down to her people now, but what she was saying couldn't be heard. With nothing to react to, the fans started chanting, "Ronda Rousey!"

Once Zelina was done with her little speech, the cartel parted ways and she stepped forward towards Stephanie and Ronda.

"When you're ready, Vega," Stephanie said sarcastically, looking at her watch.

"Shut up and listen to me," Zelina barked at her. The fans booed, so she repeated herself for their benefit. "I said shut up and listen to me!" The reaction, of course, got worse.

"What's wrong with these idiots?" Graves said.

Vega gave up on trying to shut them up, so she just said what was on her mind. "Okay, McMahon, you want me in the lion's den with her?" She pointed at Ronda. "You want to sign Rowdy Ronda Rousey specifically to try and take me out? Fine. I'll step into the lion's den at Money in the Bank, but if I'm going to risk it all by doing that, so are you. This place is only big enough for one of us."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Renee wondered as Vega paused for a second.

"I'll fight Ronda, but I want a stipulation added," Vega said. "And that stipulation is that if I win, Stephanie, you resign as commissioner of Smackdown."

Stephanie and Ronda both laughed at that idea, along with the fans. "Let me get this straight," Stephanie chuckled. "You want me to agree to resign if you can beat Rowdy Ronda Rousey in the lion's den?"

"That's what I just said," Vega snapped.

"Alright, since that's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard, you've got a deal," Stephanie said, grinning. "However, I wasn't born yesterday. There will also be a second stipulation: If any member of The Vega Cartel comes within fifty feet of the lion's den during the match, I'll fire every single one of them on the spot. If you want me gone, you'll have to beat Ronda without any of your little puppets helping you."

"I don't know about this, Zelina," Graves cautioned.

"Alright, you've got your match," Zelina snarled, her ego possibly taking over. "After Money is the Bank is over, we'll finally be rid of you for good, and I will put my name forward to succeed you as commissioner. Then it won't just be The Vega Cartel on Smackdown, it will The Vega Era!"

Taking Stephanie by surprise, Ronda snatched her microphone and addressed Zelina. "You want to stop worrying about Steph, and start worrying about me. For the past two months, I've been watching you every Tuesday night and all I've wanted to do is take this fist and smash you right in the face with it."

The fans cheered their approval of that vision as Ronda stood there with her left fist clenched. Zelina looked at the fist and gulped.

"After I'm done with you, and the paramedics drag your ass out of the lion's den, we won't be talking about The Vega Era, we'll be talking about the Vega in ICU Era, and that's if you're lucky. By the time Money in the Bank is over, The Vega Cartel will be without a leader." Ronda dropped the microphone and her music hit as she and Stephanie left the ring.

Zelina was shown, looking for the second time like she had seen a ghost after hearing Ronda's threat.

"I think Vega's just realising what she's got in store in three weeks," Renee said. "She's going to be locked in a cage with Rowdy Ronda Rousey, the most dangerous female cage fighter in the world, and she's going to have no one to help her. It's going to be brutal. It's going to be savage. Vega is going to get mauled, and Ronda has promised to take her out for good. I can't wait. If I wasn't already on commentary, I'd buy a ticket to see it."

Graves countered, "But if Zelina can somehow, some way, get a win over Rousey, Stephanie McMahon has to resign as Smackdown's commissioner. At least we've got something to fight for."

"We?" Coach mocked. "We? What, are you on the Vega payroll now, Corey? Maybe you can get the top job after Money in the Bank, because we'll have seen the last of Zelina by the time Ronda's done with her."

* * *

_Earlier that night_

Zelina had arrived for Smackdown excited to see what was going to be next for her, and also for Seth and the rest of their group. When she had looked at her copy of the script for the show, she had been surprised. The section for the opening segment simply said, 'Vega Cartel – McMahon in-ring segment re Money in the Bank match.'

"That's nice and specific," she complained, showing the script to Bayley and Sonya Deville, her two friends in the women's locker room.

"Does it mean the Money in the Bank ladder match?" Bayley wondered.

"If so, which one?" Sonya added.

"I assume it means a match for me," Zelina said. "After all, they had Steph make that threat to me last night about doing something that would make me wish I'd never signed for Smackdown."

"It's a shame we're all heels," Sonya said. "I'd love to go at it with either of you guys."

Zelina had to agree. Since Sonya had joined Smackdown, the higher-ups had done away with her MMA fighter gimmick; a decision that had come as a surprise to everyone. She now played a security guard type of character, wearing body armour and carrying a police baton, which she often used on her opponents during or following matches. Older fans would have seen similarities to The Big Boss Man's heel character from the attitude era.

"With your new character, it's more likely they could add you to the cartel," Bayley thought out loud.

"That won't happen," Zelina said regretfully. "I remember Hunter saying a few weeks ago that there won't be any additions to the group for the foreseeable future. Plus we couldn't fit another member on the bus, anyway."

"That's true," Bayley admitted. Including Elena, the bus currently carried six people, with four bunks and a double bed available to sleep them.

"Shame, but at least they're pushing me," Sonya said with a smile.

"Guys, I'm going to go find out what the deal is with this," Zelina said, brandishing the script. "It makes me edgy not knowing what I've got to get ready for."

"Okay. Come back and let us know," Bayley said, before continuing the conversation with Sonya.

Feeling irritable, Zelina left the locker room. "Vega – McMahon segment," she muttered to herself. "Who would type up a format with that little info on it?"

Heading towards Hunter's office, Zelina got about halfway there before she saw the boss walking towards her. "Ah, Zelina, perfect," he said with a smile of greeting. "I was just coming to find you. I see you've got your format."

For what use it is, Zelina thought. "Yeah. I was coming to get some more info," she said politely.

"Exactly why I was coming to get you. Follow me."

"Okay," she replied uncertainly as he turned and led the way back towards his office.

"The reason there's not much detail on the format is that the decision on which way to proceed was only made this morning, and the formats had already been produced."

Zelina felt worried again. Last minute plans could often turn out not to be good plans. For it to have gone this way, there likely had to have been disagreement on the booking team, and that was not good either.

"I'm happy to say that the idea I was pushing for is the one that's got the go ahead," Hunter was saying.

That seems to be happening quite a bit lately, at least where I'm concerned, she thought. It was no secret by now that Hunter was very high on her as a talent, and she owed him a lot of gratitude for the way she was being pushed. Apparently, the push was about to continue in some way. Whatever was going on, she forced the irritation over the format out of her mind, reminding herself of how lucky she was to be in the position she was in.

Hunter reached the door to his office, pushed it open and stood there holding it open for her to go in before him. "Come in and meet your next opponent, who joins Smackdown as of tonight."

Walking into the office, Zelina stopped in her tracks when she saw Ronda Rousey, of all people, casually standing in front of her, beside Stephanie McMahon. She felt the sensation of her head spinning, the same way it had when she had first been told about The Vega Cartel. Surely Hunter and Stephanie were about to laugh, revealing the whole thing to be a rib?

"Hi, Zelina," Ronda said in a friendly manner, offering her hand.

Zelina realised she must have looked like a total idiot, standing there with a dumbstruck expression on her face. Either an idiot or a rabbit in the headlights. "Hey, Ronda," she managed to say, shaking hands.

Behind her, Hunter closed the door. "Alright, let's start by talking about tonight, then we can get into what's going to happen at Money in the Bank."

* * *

The first thing Zelina did after being dismissed from the office was take out her phone. She just had to text Seth with the news, even though he would probably think she was joking around. She typed out a quick message:  _Holy shit! Just been to Hunter's office. I'm wrestling Ronda Rousey at Money in the Bank, in a lion's den match!_

As she walked along the hallway, a reply arrived quickly.

_Seth Rollins: Woah! Are you serious right now? Ronda's not even on Smackdown!_

_Yes, I'm serious. Ronda was there in the office. She's really nice. She's on Smackdown and Nakamura has gone to Raw. Can't believe they're giving this to me, Seth!_

_Seth Rollins: Believe it, muñeca. You deserve it. You've made yourself such a hateable heel that they can't ignore you._

Zelina took a moment to decide how to reply to that. She decided to go with:  _Thank you, baby. Hunter pretty much said he swung this for me. Don't think Vince was so keen._

Seth Rollins:  _Hunter sees a lot in you, as well he should. Keep on his good side and he'll try and make sure you're looked after. He's always fought my corner._

Considering that, Zelina wished she could be a fly on the wall in the creative and booking meetings to hear what was said about her, and about Seth. Whatever it was, Hunter's guys were getting the breaks on Smackdown, whereas on Raw, it seemed that 'Vince's guys' were being favoured of late. Thank God we were moved, she thought. Before she wrote out a reply, another message appeared.

_Seth Rollins: What's the plan for the Ronda match?_

Grinning, Zelina typed back:  _That would be telling. ;)_


	38. Chapter 38

There was no live event for the Smackdown roster the day after Ronda Rousey's debut on the show. That fact had given the members of The Vega Cartel two days to travel to the next town they were scheduled to perform in, meaning a rare hotel night was possible on the Wednesday.

When the bus arrived at the hotel they had booked, Bobby and Joe had immediately noticed a bowling alley on a short distance away on the opposite side of the road.

"I know what we're doing tonight," Bobby said, meaning the whole group.

"What?" Seth enquired. He had been too busy on his phone to notice anything out of the window, and it was too late to look now, since Elena had just swung the bus into the hotel's secure parking area.

"There's a bowling alley just across the road," Bobby said. "What do you say we go over there, have a few games, then find somewhere to have dinner?"

"That sounds good," Bayley said. "At least it's a game I might be able to play, unlike your poker nights."

"I keep trying to teach you," Joe said defensively.

"I think that's most likely the problem; the fact that you're teaching her," Seth said, drawing laughter from the group.

"What about you, Daga? You in?" Bobby asked their driver.

"Yes, I will bowl," the Italian replied. "But not much drinking for me, I have to drive tomorrow, yes?"

"I love how she does that," Bobby mumbled to Joe, meaning the way her less than perfect use of English seemed to often make her end sentences with unnecessary questions.

"Yes, we know," Joe replied, shaking his head. Bobby's crush on Daga was the worst kept secret on the bus, and was now a constant source of humour for everyone, knowing that she was both gay and off the market.

"I can hear you, you know," Bayley said, feigning annoyance. "That's my girl you're talking about."

Elena was concentrating on backing the bus neatly into a parking spot, but she still kept up with the conversation. "Don't worry, Bay. If we bowl, we bowl in couples. And we kick their ass!"

"Oh, really? Couples now, is it?" Joe asked. "Okay then, the third placed couple has to buy dinner for everyone."

"Awesome idea," Bobby said, slapping the big guy on the shoulder.

Bayley shook her head. "Why is it always money with you two?"

"Are you in or not?" Bobby asked.

With a loud hiss from the airbrakes, Elena brought the bus to a stop in its resting place for the night. "We're in," she answered on behalf of her couple.

"Seth? Zel?" Joe asked.

"We're in," Seth answered.

"Looks like we're eating for free," Bobby said to Joe, since they would default to being the third couple.

Elena stood up and stretched her arms after the long drive. One of the running jokes that was now established among the group was Elena ordering Bobby around. "Forget eating for free. Off the bus, before I throw you off."

"You do realise that out of those options, I actually want you to try and throw me off?" Bobby asked her, nevertheless heading for the open door.

Laughing, the rest of the group followed him. Once they were all off the bus, Elena opened the luggage storage compartment. Seth and Zelina's cases had been the last ones to go in, so they were the first to come out. Seth retrieved them both and set hers down in front of her.

"Thank you," she said sweetly. They started walking towards the hotel's entrance.

"You were quiet on the bus," he said with a hint of concern in his tone.

When she looked up at him, he saw mischief in her eyes. "Yeah, I was. I wasn't going to tell Bobby and Joe that they just picked the other game I'm good at. My brother taught me poker, and he also taught me to bowl."

Seth laughed heartily, imagining the two men's faces when he and Zelina revealed their true colours. "I bowl a good game, too," he said.

"They're going to hate us," Zelina giggled.

Laughing again, Seth said, "Yep. One of us beats them most times we play cards, now if we beat them at this too they'll be so mad. But one day they're going to find something to do that we suck at."

Zelina shrugged, still smiling. "We'll be way ahead of the game by then. One loss for us will just make them feel a bit better about themselves."

* * *

The six person group walked over to the lane they had been assigned to at the bowling alley. They had all changed into the ridiculous-looking bowling shoes, and had bought the first round of drinks. Everyone had a beer, including Elena, who had permitted herself one for the night since she was driving the next day, and Bayley, who rarely drank, but had decided to match her girlfriend's one for the night.

"I'll type the names in," Joe said, sitting down in front of the little computer terminal. "Who's going first?"

"Ladies first," Seth said.

"So, you then?" Bobby said to him, bursting out laughing.

Elena shook her head. "He really is a... how do you say..." she faltered.

"God among men?" Bobby suggested.

"Idiot?" Zelina suggested next, grinning.

"No, an infantile," Elena said, using the Italian word for a smile child.

"Oh, that's just infant in English," Bayley chuckled, realising what she meant. "Yeah, Bobby, you're an infant!"

Bobby made a praying gesture with his hands in Elena's direction. "Please insult me in Italian some more?"

Elena took a hit from her beer bottle and smiled sweetly. "Or I could glass you?"

Everyone laughed, even Bobby, who simply loved to banter with her.

"Yeah, she knows that term," Seth giggled. For some reason, Elena's threat had really tickled him.

"And this is all before the beer kicks in," Bayley said, rolling her eyes.

"Alright, the names are in," Joe announced. He had indeed put the women's team first, followed by him and Bobby, then Seth and Zelina last.

"Right, now we get our balls out," Bobby said, now being deliberately stupid.

"For God's sake," Zelina giggled, walking over to a stand where a large selection of bowling balls was kept. There were many different sizes, weights and colours to suit almost any player's preference. It took a few minutes for everyone to select a ball that they were happy with, then it was time to play.

"Okay," Joe said when they were all back at their lane. "One person plays each frame for their couple, so if you need to use both attempts, the same person bowls both times. Then the next time your team is up, it's the other person's turn. Ladies, who's up?"

"You go first, pulcina," Elena said to Bayley, using an Italian endearment that was new to the group, but clearly not to Bayley.

"Okay, wish me luck."

"Luck." Elena said and pecked her on the lips.

"In your own time," Seth said, to sniggers from the others.

Taking a deep breath, Bayley stepped forward, with everyone's eyes on her. She released her ball with pretty poor technique, and it rolled into the gutter three quarters of the way down the lane.

"Aww," she said in disappointment. "Can we put the sides up?" She was referring to the child's lanes with inflatable tubes in the gutters to stop balls falling in.

"Ah, come here, Bay," Seth said, offering a sympathetic hug. Bayley was of course glad to accept.

"If that gives me better luck than your kiss, Daga, we have a problem," she said sweetly after letting Seth go. Her ball was returned, and she tried again. This time the ball at least reached the pins, hitting the right side and knocking down five.

"We're on the mark," Elena proclaimed, confusing being on the board and off the mark. No one pointed out her error.

"Maybe I'll need more than one beer," Bayley said in disappointment, standing aside for Bobby to take his turn.

His first ball was a good one, only leaving two pins standing on the right side. He cleared them up with his second attempt, for a spare.

"Nice," Joe said, giving his partner a fist bump.

"You first," Seth offered Zelina, now that they were up.

She nodded, picked up her ball and stepped forward. Although she was an excellent bowler, she hadn't played in some time, so she knew she might not be at one hundred per-cent right from the start. As soon as she released the ball, she knew it wasn't going to be a strike. She was surprised to find that her muscle memory still knew exactly what a strike ball felt like.

"Look at the curve on that," Joe said, admiring the way the ball tracked over towards the gutter before swinging back into the pins, albeit leaving three standing on the right side.

"Yeah, Seth's a lucky guy, muñeca," Bobby said, pretending Joe had been referring to her curves, not the trajectory of her bowling ball.

"Don't muñeca me, asshole," she laughed. "That's Seth's line. And you didn't even pronounce it properly."

"I never have any luck with the ladies," Bobby complained.

"You are married," Bayley reminded him.

"Good point," he admitted.

"Fuck knows how, but he is," Joe said with a laugh.

Zelina cleaned up the final three pins with her second ball, shaking her head slightly in annoyance at what by her standards had been a wayward start.

"Nice job, muñeca," Seth said, just because Bobby had just said it.

Elena took a hit from her beer, ready to step up next. "We're in trouble, Bay," she said, picking up her chosen ball. "Is this a bad time to say I can't remember the last time I played this game?"

"You won't be worse than I am," Bayley replied good-naturedly.

"Let's see." Elena stepped forward and bowled her first ball. It connected flush with the pin at the tip of the triangle and scattered all of the pins. It was the first strike of the night.

"Yes!" Bayley celebrated, rushing over and hugging her girlfriend.

"The expression for that is beginner's luck," Joe advised Elena.

"No, the expression for that is me being better than you," she fired back, making everyone laugh.

Joe was up next. "We'll see," said, stepping up to bowl. Unsurprisingly, power was not an issue for him. Accuracy, however, was a bit more of an issue. His ball hammered into the left side of the triangle and obliterated it.

"The idea is to knock them all down," Zelina helpfully pointed out.

"Thanks, that's good to know," he said dryly. He waited for his ball to come back, then cleaned up the rest of the pins for his team's second spare in a row. "I think that puts us in the lead," he said smugly.

Seth downed the rest of his beer in one hit, then banged the bottle down on the table. "Not for long," he promised, picking up his ball.

"Please go in the gutter," Bobby said as he prepared to bowl.

Seth delivered the ball with a lot more power than the others might have expected to see from him. It was due to his good technique. The ball slammed into the pins and sent them flying everywhere. Even so, the one at the left hand end of the back row somehow remained standing. "That's bullshit," he protested, turning around to the rest of the group.

"No, that's you sucking," Joe took pleasure in saying.

Always competitive when it came to games, Zelina hid her emotions by sipping from her beer. She looked forward to wiping the smile off the big guy's face when she had her next turn. But first, Seth had one pin to clean up to get their second spare on the board.

"I'd never manage to hit one by itself," Bayley said while Seth waited for his ball to be returned.

"Neither will he," Elena said, joining in on the gamesmanship.

"Watch me," he fired back, unthinkingly using Zelina's on-screen catchphrase. He stepped up and bowled.

"That's a miss," Bobby said straight away.

"No chance," Seth countered, anxiously watching the ball, not feeling as confident as he was trying to sound.

Sure enough, to the delight of Bobby and Joe, his attempt missed the remaining pin by an inch at most. They both cheered ironically, rubbing the failure in his face.

"Better start deciding what we're going to order for dinner, since we know we won't be paying for it," Joe said to Bobby.

Now that everyone had bowled once, it was Bayley's turn to go again. She did better than her first attempt, managing to knock down eight pins with her two attempts.

Zelina felt bad for Bayley and Elena, since it seemed highly likely that they would lose. She decided to make them the offer to secretly help them with the dinner bill, knowing that Bobby and Joe would show them no mercy. "Daga," she said quietly, standing next to the Italian.

"Yes?"

"If you lose, don't worry about having to buy dinner, I'll help you with it, and I'll get Seth to as well."

"Thanks, Zelina," Elena said appreciatively, apparently resigned to defeat.

"No problem," Zelina replied, watching Bobby knock down all but two pins with his first ball.

"Bay and I were actually going to ask you what you were doing tonight, before the bowling came up."

"Oh?" Zelina enquired, pleasantly surprised.

"We were thinking it's time we had a night out just for the girls."

Zelina liked that idea. She felt bad about the fact that even after spending a couple of months with Elena driving them around the country, she hadn't done much to get to know her. Often, she and Seth were too preoccupied with each other in the evenings on the road. Although it was a natural thing for a couple who hadn't been together long, it was still something they needed to work on. "Great idea," she said with a smile. "It's past time we did something like that. Count me in, the first chance we get."

"Bene," Elena said happily in Italian.

"Any danger, Zelina?" Bobby asked, waiting for her to step up and bowl. "Or are you hoping to bore us all into leaving?"

"No, I think you've got that covered with the conversation," she fired back, drawing laughter from the others. The banter among the group was sometimes relentless on nights out, and was often pretty cutting, too. They all enjoyed it, though. Even Bayley would get in there with a stinging comment from time to time.

"Gutter ball coming up," Joe said, trying to put Zelina off her game.

She had just picked up her ball, but she put it back down again, successfully baited by his comment. "You like a bet, Joe," she said, walking up to him. "Twenty bucks says this is a strike."

"You're on," he quickly said, nodding.

"Go on, Zel," Bayley encouraged her.

Zelina picked up her ball again, willing herself again to put Joe in his place. She stepped up and delivered the ball. As soon as it left her hand, she knew the result. "Strike," she announced, turning back around to face the group with the ball not even halfway down the lane.

For once, there was silence. The group all stood there watching her ball while she walked back towards them. A moment later, she heard the satisfying crash of pins.

"Strike," Seth confirmed, not bothering to hide his satisfaction.

"That was badass," Bayley said to Zelina. "How did you know you were going to get them all?"

"Turns out I'm not bad at this game, right, Joe?" she grinned, holding her hand out for his twenty dollar bill while he stood there with a look of disbelief on his face.

"Apparently," he reluctantly said after a moment, handing over the money.

"One day we're going to find a game you suck at," Bobby said grumpily.

Zelina gave him one of her sweetest smiles. "Good luck with that."

An hour and a half later, they were outside, waiting for an Uber to take them to a local restaurant for dinner. Seth and Zelina had won the game, with Joe and Bobby coming second. Bayley and Elena had taken defeat graciously, which was somewhat surprising on the Italian's part.

"Great game, muñeca," Seth said, standing with an arm around Zelina's waist.

"You too, baby. We really showed them," he grinned up at him. "Hey, Daga invited me out with her and Bayley next time we get a free night like this. A girl's night would be good fun."

"Yeah, you should definitely go. While you're there, you can try and find out how she ended up driving a bus for a living." It was a question that Bobby had been endeavouring to get an answer to pretty much since day one on the tour bus, and Elena had frustrated him by refusing to tell him.

"I'll do that," Zelina said. "But if she tells me, I'm not telling Bobby."

Seth chuckled. "Of course not."


	39. Chapter 39

Due to the fact that Money in the Bank was a cross-brand event, featuring two men's Money in the Bank ladder matches and an inter-brand women's ladder match, space on the card was somewhat limited for other matches. For that reason, neither brand's tag team titles were being defended.

As far as The Vega Cartel were concerned, that had given both Bobby Roode and Samoa Joe the chance to qualify for the Smackdown ladder match. Joe had succeeded, but Roode had come up short, leaving the cartel with a one in six chance of controlling the invaluable briefcase which Zelina had insisted must be theirs.

The other cartel members were also in action. Bayley was to defend her Smackdown Women's Championship against Carmella one more time, while Seth Rollins would lock up with AJ Styles once again in the show's main event.

Zelina had of course known that a lion's den match with Ronda Rousey would be a huge deal, particularly with Stephanie McMahon's job on the line, but she had still been humbled when she had arrived for the show and looked over the formats. Only the two brand's main championship matches were ahead of them on the card.

A further surprise had been how down-to-earth she had found Ronda to be. When they had had the usual pre-match discussion with their road agent, Ronda had been open to listening to Zelina's ideas for the match. She was also changing in the women's locker room with the rest of them. Apparently the 'I want no special privileges' stuff wasn't just a tag line for her character. Zelina respected that, knowing that a lot of people in Ronda's position wouldn't have acted that way.

Nevertheless, as she looked across the room at her opponent, who was busy talking to the three members of the Riott Squad, Zelina felt nerves in the pit of her stomach. Wrestling Renee Young in a tune-up match was one thing, this was quite another. This was one of the most anticipated matches on the card at one of WWE's bigger pay-per-views, and it was basically going to be a fight, against someone who worked seriously stiff. It was going to be a great experience and hopefully a good match, but it was almost certainly going to hurt.

"You look nervous," Bayley said quietly, sitting beside her.

"I am, a bit," Zelina admitted. "It's my first big match, and, well, it's against Ronda. You've seen the few matches she's had as well as I have. She works stiff as a board, as she's so much bigger than me. I'm going to get wrecked out there."

"The fans will love it, if that's any consolation," Sonya put in from the other side of Zelina.

"I guess so," she said with a grimace. "If I put on a good match, it makes it more likely they'll keep using me in the ring."

"I don't think that's in doubt at this point," Bayley said. "The way they're booking you, I don't think they'll have you wrestle often, but they will use you."

Zelina saw the logic in that. Her character wasn't supposed to be in the ring every week, she was supposed to be the leader of the cartel. That would automatically make any matches she did have a bigger deal, and that could only be a good thing.

Sonya had picked up her copy of the formats, giving them another look over. "There's a lot going on tonight, that's for sure," she said thoughtfully.

"You ain't kidding," Zelina said.

* * *

_WWE Money in the Bank – June 17th 2018_

For some time, there had been serious issues between The Riott Squad and Natalya. On the final episode of Smackdown before the pay-per-view, Ruby Riott's team had committed a savage attack on the Canadian in an attempt to take her out of the ladder match.

After the first five competitors, including Ruby, had entered the ring, Stephanie McMahon's music played.

"I don't think this is Natalya," Renee said on commentary. "Here comes Smackdown's commissioner, Stephanie McMahon."

"Make the most of saying that while you can," Graves said, referring to the lion's den match later in the night.

Stephanie had stepped out onto the stage, microphone in hand. She took a pointed look over at the lion's den, which was standing nearby, off to one side of the entrance.

"Stephanie looking at the lion's den," Coach said. "Her fate will be decided in there later on tonight, when Zelina Vega meets Ronda Rousey. But why is Stephanie out here now?"

The answer quickly arrived. Stephanie raised her microphone and said, "Sadly, I have to inform you that after being viciously attacked by The Riott Squad this past Tuesday night on Smackdown, Natalya is unable to compete tonight."

"How awful for Natalya to have this opportunity taken away from her," Renee said sympathetically, while Ruby was shown looking pleased with herself.

"However," Stephanie went on, "as sad as this is for Natalya, the nature of this business is that one person's misfortune is another person's opportunity. Therefore, allow me to introduce Natalya's replacement in this match."

"A replacement? Who's it going to be?" Renee asked as Stephanie stepped aside and gestured towards the entrance.

Sasha Banks music hit, to a tremendous reaction from the crowd.

"Oh, it's Sasha Banks!" Renee shouted as the returning star walked out onto the stage and gave her familiar pose. "Sasha Banks was taken out by Bayley and Zelina Vega two months ago! Now she's back, and she's in the Money in the Bank ladder match!"

* * *

Twenty minutes later, Sasha was climbing the ladder, with all of her opponents out of commission.

"This is going to be it!" Renee called out.

"There's no one around to stop Sasha!" Michael Cole joined in, who was Raw's representative on commentary for the inter-brand match.

Banks reached the top of the ladder. With the crowd going wild, she stretched up and took hold of the briefcase.

"Yes!" Renee cried out when Sasha unhooked the briefcase. "Sasha Banks is Ms Money in the Bank!"

"This is bad," Graves said. "Bayley retained her title against Carmella in the opening match tonight, but you've got to believe Banks will looking to go after her at the first opportunity."

"She doesn't have to," Renee pointed out. "Sasha can pick the right time, the right place and cash in for a title match whenever she wants."

"This is a bad omen for Zelina Vega and her cartel," Cole said. "There's still the matter of the Smackdown men's ladder match, and Seth Rollins has to defend his WWE Championship against AJ Styles. Add that to what surely has to be the destruction of Vega in the lion's den, and they could be looking at a very dark day indeed."

* * *

Things got worse for the cartel later in the night. Apart from AJ Styles, Finn Balor was Seth Rollins' biggest nemesis on Smackdown. At the end of the Smackdown men's ladder match, it came down to Balor and Joe, who were battling it out at the top of the ladder, frantically punching each other as hard as they could.

"Look at them go!" Renee called out. "You can see the desperation in both of these men! Finn Balor knows that he has to win the briefcase if he is to have any chance of getting his hands on Rollins for the WWE Championship again."

"But Joe cannot afford to lose!" Graves countered. "You heard what Zelina Vega told him backstage earlier tonight: Failure is not an option."

"It might not be an option Vega wants to consider, but it is an option," Coach said as Balor started to get the upper hand. "Joe's reeling! Joe's in trouble!"

It was true. Balor had the big man teetering, on the brink of falling off the ladder. He completed the job with a stiff headbutt.

"Joe is down!" Renee yelled as Finn reached up for the briefcase. "Finn Balor! Finn Balor wins!"

"This is bad," Graves said. "This is really bad for The Vega Cartel. First Banks, now Balor."

Finn half climbed, half fell down the ladder, only caring about the fact that he had his newly-won briefcase clutched to his chest. "That man, Finn Balor, is Smackdown's Mr Money in the Bank," Coach said. "More bad news for The Vega Cartel. Even if Seth Rollins came overcome AJ Styles tonight, he's going to need eyes in the back of his head from now on. Balor can come for him any time he wants."

"Finn could even cash in tonight if he wanted to," Renee said.

"This is awful," Graves mumbled. "Sasha Banks and Finn Balor both with Money in the Bank briefcases is the worst possible scenario for the cartel. Zelina must be beside herself back there, when she should be preparing to face Ronda Rousey."

Renee countered, "You describe it as the worst case scenario, Corey. Personally, I think it's the best case scenario. It's time the dominance of the cartel was broken, and what better people to do it than Finn Balor and Sasha Banks?"

"And that's if Vega even lasts that long," Coach said. "By the time tonight is over and Ronda Rousey is through with her, we might have seen the last of Zelina Vega. That's certainly what Stephanie McMahon is hoping for."

"But if Zelina can win, somehow, anyhow, Stephanie must resign as commissioner," Graves reminded them. "Vega can do it, I know she can."

"We'll see, later tonight," Renee said before moving on to end the segment, with a shot of Finn celebrating on the screen. "There is Smackdown's Money in the Bank winner. Congratulations, Finn Balor."

* * *

After a video package to recap the McMahon – Vega rivalry and the short Rousey – Vega aspect of it, the arena was shown with the lights above the ring turned off. All attention was now directed to the lion's den.

The shot changed to show a backstage hallway. Zelina Vega was walking towards the arena wearing a black sweatshirt, black jeans and her hair in a tight ponytail. She was busy wrapping a length of chain around her right fist.

"Zelina Vega is dressed for exactly what this is going to be: a fight," Graves said. "She doesn't look intimidated. She looks fired up. She looks ready."

"She looks like a dead woman walking," Renee said bluntly.

Dasha Fuentes approached, microphone in hand. "Zelina, you're about to step into the lion's den with Rowdy Ronda Rousey, the most dangerous female cage fighter in the world. Surely you can't be confident of victory?"

Zelina looked at the interviewer as if she was piece of dog crap on the bottom of her boot. "I can't be confident of victory? Why? Do you think I'm afraid of Ronda Rousey? Do I look afraid to you, Dasha?"

"Uh…" Dasha faltered.

"No. That's the answer you're looking for." Zelina held up her right fist with the chain wrapped around it. "What I'm confident about is the fact that all I need to do is hit Rousey with one of these, and that useless, corrupt bitch Stephanie McMahon will be gone for good, and I'll be next in line to be commissioner of Smackdown. I will beat Ronda Rousey. Watch me."

"Wow!" Coach exclaimed as Zelina walked away. "Strong words indeed from Zelina Vega."

"Zelina's confident, and that gives me confidence," Graves said. "I think we're about to witness at historic Vega win, and with it the end of Stephanie McMahon."

The shot returned to the arena and Greg Hamilton made an announcement. "The next contest is a lion's den match! If Ronda Rousey loses, Stephanie McMahon must resign as commissioner of Tuesday Night Smackdown! However, if any member of The Vega Cartel comes within fifty feet of the lion's den during the match, every cartel member will be fired!"

The Vega Cartel's music hit, drawing the usual heated boos from the crowd. Zelina walked out onto the stage and made a show of posing with her chain-clad fist. With that done, she stepped down off the side of the entrance ramp and walked over to the lion's den while Hamilton announced her.

"Introducing first, from Queens, New York, Zelina Vega!"

"Vega looking up at the lion's den," Renee said over the boos that came in response to Zelina's name. "Despite what she said just now, she looks nervous to me, as well she should. Anyone would be nervous at the prospect of stepping into a cage with Rowdy Ronda Rousey, let alone someone who has only ever had one wrestling match."

"As I remember it, that match was against you, Renee," Graves said. "Zelina kicked your butt all around ringside that night, so I would have thought you of all people would be reluctant to underestimate her."

Zelina still hadn't entered the lion's den. She was walking around the outside of it, looking up at it, apparently trying to psyche herself of for what was about to transpire.

Coach said, "I'm sure Renee would be the first to admit that stepping in the ring with her is not the same prospect as stepping into the lion's den with Rowdy Ronda Rousey. Let's not forget that Ronda is undefeated since joining WWE. If Vega wants to see Stephanie McMahon resign, and go on to put her own name forward for the commissioner's position, she's going to have to do something no one else has managed to do."

Vega's delaying tactics were annoying the crowd. Boos and abuse rained down while she walked slowly around the lion's den. Eventually, she completed a lap of it and reached the door. Closing her eyes for a moment, she paused before stepping inside.

"Some final thoughts, or maybe a short prayer for Zelina Vega," Graves said.

"She hasn't got a prayer," Renee said, pleased with her little joke.

"I'm not going to totally write off Vega," Coach said. "As we've all seen many times, anything can happen in WWE, and Zelina has brought herself a weapon in the form of that chain she has wrapped around her wrist. Remember, under the rules of the lion's den, using the chain would be perfectly legal. The only way the match can end is by pinfall or submission."

Now inside the cage, Zelina did look decidedly unsure of herself. Her music faded, being quickly replaced by Bad Reputation. The fans went wild, hyped up to see the woman they hated the most get well and truly ruined.

Ronda walked briskly out into the arena wearing a white sports bra and shorts combination. The bra had the word Rowdy on the front, in the familiar lettering used previously by Roddy Piper. She was also wearing a mouth guard, which helped to make her game face even scarier.

"Here comes Ronda Rousey!" Renee exclaimed. "Last week on Smackdown, Ronda promised Stephanie McMahon that she wouldn't just beat Zelina Vega, she would take her time about it and make Vega suffer."

"That's sick," Graves complained.

"Sick or not, that's exactly what Ronda plans to do. I think if there are any Vega Cartel fans other than you, Corey, they might be in for some uncomfortable viewing."

In a stark contrast to Zelina's entrance, Ronda marched straight over to the lion's den's door and stepped inside while Hamilton announced her.

"And her opponent, from Venice, California, Rowdy Ronda Rousey!"

With the fans cheering Ronda, the referee positioned himself to keep the two women apart as she entered the lion's den. He was not willing to start the match until the door had been locked.

Now faced with her opponent, any confidence Zelina might have entered with appeared to have melted away. She looked like she wanted to run, but that wasn't an option. A second referee had just locked the door from the outside. It wouldn't open again until there was a winner.

"Usually I would attempt to describe which of the superstars has the advantage in strength, in height, or in technique," Renee said. "But in this case, Rousey has the upper hand any way you want to look at it."

The referee called for the bell. With Ronda needing to be wary of the chain Zelina had around her fist, and Zelina wary of Ronda in general, neither woman rushed in. They stalked each other around the cage, with Ronda looking for an opportunity to get at her opponent.

The opportunity came when Vega tried to capitalise on one of Rousey's mini advances, swinging hard with her right hand in an attempt to deliver the knockout blow, aided by the chain. Unfortunately for her, Ronda was able to sway out of the way, grab Zelina in a waist lock and rag her down to the mat. It wasn't pretty, but it was effective.

The fans roared their satisfaction and encouragement as Ronda began pounding away with left hands to Zelina's head, which she tried desperately to protect with her arms.

"Vega trying to cover up, but Rousey's hammering her!" Renee called out.

Realising she wasn't getting through with the punches as much as she would like, Ronda got up, dragging Zelina with her.

"Look at the power!" Coach cried as Ronda launched her smaller opponent clean across the lion's den, crashing back first into the steel cage.

"Zelina's in big trouble," Graves said, sounding distraught already.

Bending down over the fallen Vega, Ronda unwrapped the chain from around her wrist. The fans cheered again when she held it up, thinking she was going to use it on Zelina, but instead she tossed it over the top of the cage.

"Good. Get that thing out of there," Renee said. "Now it's a fair fight, at least in a manner of speaking."

Ronda delivered a savage kick to Zelina's side.

"Fair isn't a word I'd use," Coach said. "It's not even a fight. Vega's not even got a shot in. A beating is what this is."

His point was emphasised by another stiff kick to the side, sending Zelina rolling across the mat.

A shot of Ronda's face was shown, looking like she was enjoying her work, exactly as she had promised. She actually waited while Zelina used the cage to pull herself to her feet.

Another cheer came from the fans when Rousey delivered a sickening left hand to Vega's stomach, deflating her like a balloon.

"This is hard to watch," Graves said.

"You reap what you sow," Renee said without a hint of compassion for Zelina.

Dragging Zelina up by an arm, Ronda got her up on her shoulders and delivered a Samoan drop.

"This is over," Coach said. "Look at Vega, she's done."

"No she's not, not by a long shot," Renee said happily as Ronda dragged her up to her feet again.

With Vega not even able to get her hands up to form a guard, Ronda took an open shot at her face with a stiff left hand.

"I'm going to stop it," the referee could be heard telling Ronda after Zelina went down like a sack of potatoes.

"You're not stopping anything!" Ronda shouted back at him. "That bitch is going to tap out when I'm good and ready to make her!"

Valiantly, Zelina had raised herself to a kneeling position while that exchange had been going on. Turning away from the referee, Ronda swung a knee strike and hit Zelina in the cheek. Even hating Vega as they did, the crowd groaned at that one. The blow had looked brutal, largely because it had been.

Lying flat on her back, Zelina's head was ringing. Perhaps due to the fact that she had been interacting with the referee, Ronda had unintentionally hit her properly with the knee strike. She could feel her cheek swelling already, bringing with it a throbbing pain. At least she couldn't feel blood flowing.

"Just watch this impact," Coach said as the savage knee was replayed in slow motion for the audience at home.

"Boom," Renee said when the blow connected, snapping Zelina's head back.

"Vega's got to be out cold," Graves said.

The referee was in Zelina's face while she tried to get back up, asking if she wanted to give up. Technically, since submission was a valid form of victory, Vega could say she quit and the match would end.

Rousey wasn't going to allow that to happen. She walked over and shoved the referee out of the way, intending to go back after Zelina. To everyone's surprise, that was when Vega launched into action. Almost back to her feet, she was presented with the perfect angle to deliver a nasty kick to the inside of Ronda's left knee. The scream of pain she let out as she collapsed was audible around the arena.

"Yes! Come on Zelina!" Graves pleaded.

"That kick really hurt Rousey," Renee said. "Look at her holding that left knee."

"Rousey's knee looked like it buckled to me, and you heard her scream in pain," Coach said. "That could be a sprain, or even a ligament tear. Whatever it is, it just levelled the playing field."

It had done more than that. Managing to get back up, Zelina now had the advantage. She spent five minutes doing everything she could to attack the injured knee, employing strike attacks and every kind of submission hold she could think of.

Such a spell of dominance for Vega had the fans in a state of near shock. They was virtually silence in the arena until a "Ronda!" chant broke out.

"I admit it, I never thought I'd see this," Renee said. "Zelina Vega is in total control of the lion's den match. Ronda Rousey can't even stand!"

Struggling to all fours, gasping in pain was all Ronda could manage. It was a position no opponent of Zelina wanted to be in.

"Here it comes!" Graves shouted as Zelina backed up as far as she could to get a run up. "If she hits this..."

That was as far as he got, because when Zelina ran in to try and hit her infamous spike hurracanrana, Ronda caught her in mid-air, in a powerbomb position.

"Vega got caught!" Renee called out.

Ronda hobbled forwards, labouring her bad knee, and launched Zelina into the cage in a move very similar to Seth Rollins buckle bomb. The effort sent Ronda back down also, holding her knee again.

"Both women down now," Coach said. "A few steps was all Ronda could manage. I fear she's got a serious injury in there, but can she somehow keep going long enough to beat Vega?"

Zelina was first to get to her feet. Her strike attacks or submission attempts hadn't won her the match, so she decided to go with something different. There was an area with a small platform around the top of the lion's den, wide enough for a person to stand on. She started to climb the cage, intending some kind of high-flying move.

Unfortunately for Vega, Ronda managed to stumble to her feet and also start climbing the cage before Zelina reached the top.

"I don't know how Rousey's doing this," Renee said in awe. "She could have torn knee ligaments, yet she's climbing to the top of the lion's den!"

Vega reached the top of the cage. Turning around, she expected to see Rousey on the mat, but instead she was nearly up to the platform herself. Zelina crouched down, her idea being to punch Ronda in the face and knock her off the cage. But all she succeeded in doing was receiving a bone-jarring left hand to the jaw herself.

"The power Rousey puts into those punches is scary," Renee said. "Vega down now on top of the lion's den, and Ronda is climbing up there with her."

Zelina knew that her biggest spot of the match was coming up. She was going to be thrown from the platform down to the mat. It was going to be a hard impact, given the way the lion's den was constructed. Please throw me properly, Ronda, she thought. Not having total faith in the person you were working with was a scary position to be in during a wrestling match, but the stiff knee to the face had shaken her confidence. At least the ringing in her head had stopped, so she had probably escaped a concussion.

"What's Rousey doing?" Graves asked when she picked Zelina up. He realised the answer for himself. "Wait! No!"

The crowd noise rose as Ronda hurled Zelina through the air, sending her crashing down into the lion's den, ending up a crumpled mess on the middle of the canvas.

"That's it. There's no way Vega can come back from that," Renee said over the top of the fan's cheering.

Suddenly, the cheers turned to boos and shouts of alarm. The crowd were trying to attract Ronda's attention to what was going on outside the cage.

"Wait! There's Sonya Deville!" Coach exclaimed. "She's climbing the outside of the lion's den! What's she doing out here?"

Ronda was busy trying to figure out how to climb back down the cage with her bum knee. She never knew there was danger arriving behind her.

"Ronda! Look out!" Renee called.

Sonya was up on the platform now, standing behind Ronda, brandishing her dreaded police baton. In a cold and calculated attack, she slammed it into the back of Rousey's already damaged knee.

Groans of disappointment and howls of anger could be heard in equal measure as Ronda tumbled back into the cage.

"Why is Sonya Deville attacking Ronda Rousey?" Renee demanded. "Has Deville joined The Vega Cartel? If so, doesn't that mean Stephanie McMahon can fire them all?"

"I don't know the answers to those questions," Coach said. "But Sonya Deville is in the lion's den now, and she's still got that damn baton."

Absolutely ruthless as always, Sonya started laying into Ronda with the baton, beating her in the stomach or on the back, depending on how she tried to protect herself, as well as paying particular attention to the injured knee, which also took several power hits.

"Zelina's lying prone in the ring, and Deville's wearing out Rousey! She's going to crippled her! This is insane!" Graves said.

"It's a brazen assault, that's what this is," Renee spat.

After at least ten baton shots to the body on top of those to the knee, Deville stepped back from Rousey, surveying her handiwork. Somehow, Ronda was still moving. She was able to lift her head, only for Sonya to deliver her MMA-style kick finishing move, knocking Ronda out cold.

"What a brutal kick to the face," Renee gasped. "Rousey is knocked out."

Then Sonya noticed Zelina had risen to her knees, and walked slowly over towards her.A cameraman got a great shot of Zelina in the kneeling position, looking up at the woman dressed in black pants, body armour and leather gloves as if she was a divine apparition; a saviour of some kind. Zelina was battered and bruised, including a nasty-looking swelling on her left cheek, but there was only hope in her eyes.

The shot changed to a similar one from the opposite angle, where Sonya's face could be seen. There was nothing warm about the expression on it. There was no desire to impress the boss of The Vega Cartel. Sonya looked like she was surveying a bug that she was about to stomp on.

"No!" Graves cried in horror when Deville delivered her MMA-style kick finishing move to the side of Zelina's head. "No, Sonya! What are you doing?"

Again, the answer was already unfolding as the question was posed. Renee called the action. "Deville now, dragging the unconscious Vega towards Rousey! Ronda's out! No, not this way!"

Deville pretty much threw Zelina's limp body on top of Ronda, then demanded the referee make the count while the fans watched on in horror.

One.

Two.

Three, the referee counted reluctantly, before angrily signalling for the bell.

"Damn it! Why?" Renee exploded. "Sonya Deville screwed Ronda Rousey! Rousey loses, and that means McMahon is gone!"

"I knew it!" Graves screamed, on cloud nine. "I told you! I knew Zelina could do it! She beat Ronda Rousey!"

"Vega didn't beat anyone," Coach said heatedly. Sonya was shown celebrating what she had done, raising her baton in the air and roaring like a wild animal. "It was that woman, Sonya Deville, who caused Ronda Rousey to lose this match, and I agree with you Renee, I want to know why. Why did Deville just cost Stephanie McMahon her job?"

"I don't know, but you can't blame this on the cartel," Graves was keen to point out. "Sonya also attacked Zelina. Someone needs to see if she's okay."

"Who the hell cares if she's okay?" Renee snapped. "This whole thing stinks to high heaven."

By now the lion's den's door had been opened and Deville had left the cage. Medical personnel had quickly run out from the backstage area to go and check on Rousey and Vega. In that moment, Sonya was getting so much heat from the fans, she sounded as unpopular as Zelina herself. As she climbed up onto the entrance ramp and made to leave the arena, Dasha Fuentes came out onto the stage. The Vega Cartel's music faded so that the audience could hear the interviewer speak.

"Sonya, why did you just help Zelina Vega to beat Ronda Rousey?"

"I didn't help Vega," Sonya snarled. "I couldn't care less about Vega or her cartel. Did you not just see me kick her head off her shoulders? I did what I just did for one reason: I want Rousey!"

"But you just cost Stephanie McMahon her job!" Dasha protested.

Sonya couldn't have looked less interested. "Do you think I care? McMahon means nothing to me. Vega means nothing to me. The only person I care about is myself, and what matters to me is that I get Rousey, one on one. I'll show her what it means to put your hair up and square up. And if we need a new commissioner to make the match, so be it."

"What a disgusting human being Sonya Deville is," Renee said, appalled by what she had just heard. "Stephanie McMahon just lost her job because of Sonya's actions, and she showed no remorse whatsoever."

Just before Sonya walked through the curtain to the back, Bobby Roode came hurrying out.

"Forget McMahon, she's history," Graves said dismissively. "Here comes Bobby Roode, and he's got the right idea. He's going to check on Zelina Vega. She just beat Ronda Rousey. What an incredible achievement."

Bobby entered the cage, where the paramedics had removed Zelina from on top of Ronda, and were trying to attend to both women. Ronda looked like she was still unconscious, while Zelina was showing signs of life. Crouching down, Bobby helped her up.

"You did it!" he said to her in delight. "You beat her! You got rid of McMahon!"

Vega was too out of it to celebrate. It was all she could do to be able to walk away, even with Bobby's arm around her waist to help her.

"She did it!" Bobby shouted to the fans, who were watching on in silence, unable to believe that Vega had somehow emerged victorious. The fans closest to them reacted to his words with some boos.

Graves said, "I have a feeling that if Seth Rollins retains the WWE Championship against AJ Styles, there's going to be a party like no other on that Vega tour bus tonight."

To end the segment, the shot changed to show Ronda, still out cold, with the paramedics working on her. Particular attention was being paid to her left knee by WWE's doctor Chris Amann. He looked concerned by what he was discovering with his examination.

"Ronda Rousey lost the match, and I don't think she even knows it yet," Renee said, sounding like she was shaking her head at the injustice of it all.

"It looks like there's serious concern over that left knee," Coach said. "Vega worked on it throughout the match, then Sonya Deville went after it with her baton. How badly injured is Rousey? And is Stephanie McMahon going to keep her word and resign as Smackdown commissioner?"

"She'd better!" Graves snapped, finding that question objectionable in the extreme. "The stipulations were quite clear: If Zelina beat Ronda Rousey, Stephanie would resign, and if anyone from the cartel interfered, they would be fired. No one from the cartel interfered, and Vega beat Rousey. Stephanie's reign is over."

"I fear you may be right," Renee said.


	40. Chapter 40

To give those who had competed at Money in the Bank some rest, there was no Smackdown live event scheduled for the night after the pay-per-view. It was a blessed relief for Zelina, who was really feeling the after effects of the lion's den match with Ronda Rousey.

With a free night on their hands, Bayley and Elena had taken the chance to invite Zelina out for the meal they had been intending to have for some time. With the women deciding that they would be off doing their own thing, the three guys had decided to go and find somewhere to have a few drinks.

Seth having already left with Bobby and Joe, Zelina had to give herself the final once over in her hotel room's mirror before going down to the lobby to meet her friends. She was happy with her outfit - consisting of faux leather pants and a beige sleeveless top - but she was less satisfied with the way her face looked. Even spending some time making herself up hadn't done much to hide the swollen cheek and the black eye that had come up as a result of it.

"Damn," she muttered to the reflection. "Anyone who sees me is going to think my boyfriend is beating me." Either that or Ronda Rousey kneed me in the face, she thought. The headache caused by the nasty blow was only just wearing off, nearly a day after it had happened. At least WWE's doctor had given her the all-clear for concussion.

When they had gotten backstage after the match, Ronda had been full of apologies for her mistake, seeing how nasty the damage was that she had done. Since she didn't doubt that it had been an accident, Zelina had assured her that it was fine; shit happened sometimes.

"Well, thank you for the great match. I really appreciate it," Ronda had said. "I have to say, I love to hate your character. You're killing it."

That had brightened Zelina's spirits at the time, and did so again in front of the mirror when she thought about it again. Ronda could have left the building without saying a word to her if she so chose, but she had opted to say those kind things. It meant a lot to Zelina. "I hope we get to go at it again," she had said with a smile, even if the side of her face might not have agreed.

It was time to get down to the lobby. Leaving her room and heading for the elevators, Zelina realised she was still limping. That was due to the bruising that was coming up on her right hip. That injury wasn't Ronda's fault; it had been caused by the heavy impact after coming off the top of the lion's den. The floor of the den wasn't as forgiving as a regular ring, as Zelina's awkward walk would testify for the next few days.

When she got down to the lobby, she found Elena and Bayley waiting for her. They really did make a cute couple, she thought as she approached them. Bayley had a simple red t-shirt and a pair of jeans on, while Daga was wearing a leather jacket over some kind of blue top, and tight black pants to complete the look.

"Hey," Bayley said happily. It could not have been more obvious that she was excited for the night out.

"Hey, guys," Zelina smiled. "You both look great. And no, don't say so do I. I look like I've been in a car wreck."

"But you're well enough to come, yes?" Elena asked with some concern.

"Yeah. My headache finally wore off. Let's go eat. I think I could use a beer or three, too."

"And I can join you!" Elena exclaimed. During the day, they had driven to the city where Smackdown would take place the next night. With no driving to do the following day, Daga could nurse a hangover for once.

"I'll be the responsible one then," Bayley grinned. "I'll start by getting us an Uber." While she pulled the Uber app on her phone, they walked slowly out of the hotel's main entrance.

"You're really... how do you say..." Elena said, noticing the way Zelina was walking.

"Limping," she replied helpfully. "Yeah, my hip is bruising up pretty good. I'm not complaining, though. A few days and I'll be good."

"You girls are so tough," Elena said. "I couldn't do what you do."

"Oh, you could," Bayley assured her girlfriend. "I think you'd make a great heel wrestler."

"Maybe in a different world," Elena chuckled.

Their Uber soon arrived and transported them the couple of miles to the restaurant Elena and Bayley had chosen. They arrived to find the place almost full. Even so, the service was efficient. Before long, they had their drinks and had ordered their meals.

"It's about an hour waiting time right now, I'm afraid," their server said apologetically. She was a woman who looked to be in her late thirties. She could have done with losing a few pounds, but she had a kind face.

"No problem," Bayley said sweetly.

Zelina noticed the server look at her black eye and swollen cheek for the second time. "I'm a wrestler," she felt the need to explain. "I had a pretty rough match last night; took a knee to the face."

"Wait, are you the girl who was fighting Ronda Rousey?" the server asked, her voice rising a bit in surprise.

"Yep, that's me."

"I saw the meme earlier. Monday morning hitting me like..." The server laughed.

The meme in question was actually a gif, not a meme. Zelina had seen it herself, since whoever had originally tweeted it had seen their tweet go viral. She had to admit it was funny. It showed Ronda's knee strike blasting her in the face and had the caption that the server had just mentioned: Monday morning hitting me like...

"It was funny," she said with a smile.

"I'll go put your order in now," the server said with a smile of her own.

"That must annoy you, no?" Elena asked Zelina. The Italian was alone on the other side of the table, sitting opposite Bayley. "The girl fighting Ronda Rousey."

"Not really," Zelina shrugged. "Ronda's a much bigger name than I am, especially outside of wrestling. For now, at least," she added with a wink from her good eye.

While Elena attempted to talk Bayley into trying a glass of the red wine she had ordered, Zelina quickly checked a text message she had received. She hated to be the person who sat there on her phone on a night out, but she noticed that she had two breaking news notifications from the WWE app. She touched the first one.

'BREAKING: Stephanie McMahon resigns as commissioner of Tuesday Night Smackdown.'

"Bay, look at this," she said, scrolling past the filler content on the page to get down to the video that fans were being encouraged to watch. "They've done a video for Steph's resignation."

"Oh, cool!" Bayley was immediately hooked in.

Zelina hit play and put her phone on the table so that everyone could see it.

Stephanie was shown sitting in her office at WWE headquarters, at her desk. A document was on the desk in front of her, with an expensive-looking fountain pen placed on top of it. "Good evening," she began, looking into the camera. "As many of you will be aware, a few weeks ago on Smackdown, I gave Zelina Vega my word that if she could defeat Ronda Rousey in the lion's den match at the Money in the Bank pay-per-view, I would resign as commissioner of Tuesday Night Smackdown."

She paused for a half-second and grimaced. "Thanks to Sonya Deville, Vega did beat Rousey, and since I'm a woman of my word, I am about to sign this letter of resignation." She gestured to the document in front of her and picked up the fountain pen.

"I announced my intention to resign at a meeting earlier today, and it has been decided that a new commissioner of Smackdown will be announced on next week's show. So, with that being said, let's get the painful part over with."

Stephanie sighed as she scrawled her signature on the bottom of the letter. When it was done, she looked back up at the camera, heavy-hearted. "Thank you, everyone. Goodbye, and goodnight."

"Oh my," Bayley said after the video ended. "That was actually really sad. The fans are going to murder you and Sonya tomorrow night."

"I'm really getting into wrestling," Elena smiled. "You actually tell good stories with your work."

"Thanks, Daga," Zelina said warmly. She picked her phone up off the table. She saw that the WWE icon was still there in her notifications bar, and she remembered that there had actually been two of them. She tapped on the remaining notification and her eyes widened at what she saw. "Holy shit," she said, unable to control her language.

"What?" Bayley asked, sounding worried.

"This was posted ten minutes after the Steph video. I'll read it to you. 'Breaking: Daniel Bryan resigns as general manager of Tuesday Night Smackdown.'"

"Woah! What the heck?" Bayley asked, stunned.

Zelina went on to read the accompanying statement out loud. "Upon reflection, I have decided that as the responsibility for the rise of The Vega Cartel and the dominance they currently hold over Tuesday Night Smackdown rests with me as much as it does with Stephanie McMahon, that with her resignation, my own position is now untenable. For that reason, I announce my resignation as general manager, effective immediately. I would like to thank WWE for the opportunity, and the fans for their support."

"This is insane," Bayley breathed, her eyes wide. "What are they doing? And they put it out when Raw's about to go live."

"Twitter is on fire," Elena said, having taken out her own phone. "Wow. Some people are really pissed off. Someone put: 'If they make Vega commissioner, I'm going to kill myself.' This is so good!"

It was the first time Zelina had seen Elena genuinely excited about something. Fired up was quite common, but not excited.

"I love that you're getting so into wrestling now," Bayley said to her girl, sounding like the happiest person in the world.

"Anyway, sorry to be the anti-social phone person," Zelina said, putting hers back in her pocket.

"Don't worry about it, I'm glad you looked," Bayley said. "I'm just trying to imagine what they're going to do. They have an entire new management team to put together now. Literally anything could happen."

"Right," Zelina nodded. "It's a shame they're announcing in next week, not tomorrow. I guess that's to make it seem more realistic. Hiring a general manager and a commissioner by tomorrow night would be next to impossible if this was a real scenario."

They went on to make some guesses about who might get the two jobs that were now on offer. They had differing ideas, but one thing they definitely agreed on was that whoever WWE chose to fill the two roles, it was going to be interesting to say the least.

Eventually, the topic was exhausted, and Zelina moved on to what had been her top priority ahead of the night out: getting to know Elena a little better. "So, Daga, I have to ask the question we've all wanted an answer to since we met you. How did you end up driving a tour bus for a living?"

Elena laughed. "I'll tell you, if you promise not to tell Bobby. It drives him crazy that I won't tell him."

"Oh, I'm not going to tell him," Zelina assured her. "I think it's so funny how the two of you are with each other. You've had me crying laughing more than once."

"The story is probably not as interesting as you expect. I've always loved cars, bikes, anything like that. I've always loved driving. I got it from my dad, who is exactly the same. Back in Milan, he owns a tour bus company. My first job was driving one of his buses, and I really enjoyed it."

"Does your dad still have the company?"

Elena nodded. "Yes. But, without getting into politics, Italy is… how do you say… in trouble right now. I decided I wanted to leave and come to America, so I saved up the money and did it, even though I barely knew any English. I taught myself the language, and I've had driving jobs for a few companies since I came here. Then, when my grandad died a year or so ago, some money was left to me. I used it to start my own company, and I managed to get the job of driving you guys."

"You have your own company?" Zelina exclaimed. "I had no idea! How many people work for you?"

"I have three other drivers right now, on buses a lot like yours. Unlike yours, I own those buses myself. Or, I should say, my company does. WWE offered me a very good price to buy one from me and have me drive it for them, and I accepted their offer. I plan to buy a new bus soon to replace yours in my fleet, and hire another driver."

"My girl is a real businesswoman," Bayley said proudly.

"So it seems," Zelina nodded respectfully. Sometimes, Daga came across so hot-headed it was hard not to wonder if she was a little crazy. But Zelina realised now that she was due a lot more credit than that. To make a success of the kind of company she was talking about, she had to possess sound business sense, and she must have quite a lot of money to her name, too. She also had newfound respect for Elena's use of English. It was a long way from perfect, but for a self-taught second language, she decided it was quite good.

"So, now you know," Elena smiled.

"Yeah," Zelina grinned. "Hey, it's a businesswoman like you they need to put in as Smackdown commissioner."

"What a good idea!" Bayley, drawing laughter from them both.


	41. Chapter 41

_Tuesday Night Smackdown – June 19th 2018_

The episode began with The Vega Cartel in the ring, albeit with a very noticeable absence. Seth Rollins had a microphone in his hand, and got right down to business. "Please welcome the woman who single-handedly defeated Ronda Rousey in a lion's den match, our leader and yours, Zelina Vega!"

A furious volley of boos rained down from the fans when the cartel's music hit and Zelina limped out onto the stage. It was hard for her to hide her satisfaction at the response she was getting. It seemed that literally week by week the hatred she received was increasing in intensity. Controversially beating Ronda Rousey and ending the reign of both Stephanie McMahon and Daniel Bryan in the process had of course helped in that regard. WWE getting creative right was something of a rarity, but they were really coming through for her on the cartel angle.

Before the show, she had asked the lady who had done her makeup not to do anything with the hideous black eye she was sporting. Since she had taken the injury, she figured she might as well display it for the fans to get some enjoyment out of. In addition, there was the limp she had to walk with thanks to her bruised hip. The audience might well think she was putting that on, but in truth walking was very painful.

"She's battered, she's bruised, but Zelina Vega is the first woman in WWE to defeat Rowdy Ronda Rousey!" Graves said proudly, sucking up to Zelina as usual.

"Please," Renee scoffed. "Rollins has the temerity to stand there and say Vega won single-handedly. Yeah, I guess she did, since it was Sonya Deville who single-handedly won the match for her."

"Honestly, Renee, I think that's a bit harsh," Coach said. "Yes, Deville cost Rousey the match, but Vega did have the upper hand for a large portion of it, thanks to the knee injury Ronda suffered early on in the piece. We'll have an update on Ronda's condition later in the show," he added for the audience.

Renee said, "Whenever we do see Ronda again, I wouldn't want to be Sonya Deville, that's for sure."

Zelina had climbed gingerly through the ropes, with her cartel sycophantically applauding her. Joe and Seth carefully picked her up and sat her on their shoulders so that they could parade her around the ring in celebration. Naturally, more boos came from the crowd.

"This is the greatest day in the history of Smackdown," Graves said. "Zelina Vega is victorious, and, as reported yesterday by WWE dot com, both Stephanie McMahon and Daniel Bryan resigned their positions as a result. She took them both out in one fell swoop."

"Right now, we're in need of a commissioner and a general manager," Renee confirmed. "It is my understanding that both positions will be filled on next week's show, but as far as tonight is concerned, I have no idea who's in charge."

"Or if anyone is in charge," Coach put in.

Seth and Joe had just put Zelina back down on her feet, finished with the over-the-top celebration of her victory. Bobby handed their boss a microphone.

"I beat Ronda Rousey!" Zelina announced triumphantly, rubbing it in the fan's faces.

"Yes! I knew it!" Graves shouted sycophantically.

"Please, Corey, stop being so pathetic," Renee groaned.

"I beat Ronda Rousey, I got rid of Stephanie McMahon and I got rid of Daniel Bryan!" Zelina went on, beaming. "Not only that, my cartel are all still champions."

Seth was shown nodding his agreement with that, happy with his win over AJ Styles.

"With McMahon gone, just as I promised all along, the way is now clear for me to assume the role of commissioner on Smackdown," Zelina said smugly. "I can confirm I have put my name forward for the position, and I have been told that so far I am the only person on the shortlist. So, what all of you idiots sitting out there booing need to prepare yourselves for is next week, when I'm not only the boss of The Vega Cartel, I'm the boss of the whole damn show!"

"If that happens, I'll be the next one resigning," Renee mumbled, while the fans raged at Vega.

"Can we get that in writing?" Graves asked her.

In the ring, Zelina was now standing in front of Joe. "After my victory and the resignations caused by it, I have magnanimously decided to forgive Joe for his loss in the Money in the Bank ladder match, which Finn Balor unfortunately won."

The fans cheered the Irishman's name loudly, causing Zelina to round on them. "Shut up while I'm talking," she screamed at them. It was a cheap way to get heat, but it was an effective one.

Seth was shown trying to tell her to ignore the booing. Some fans decided to get the "Fuck you, Vega" chant going, but this time it didn't catch on.

Zelina turned back to Joe. Looking up at him, she delivered a warning with an ice cold edge to her tone. "I forgave you this time, Joe, but you fail me like that again, we're going to have a problem. Are you hearing me loud and clear?"

Joe humbly nodded his acceptance of the warning.

"I don't understand what Vega has on these guys that makes them let her talk to them like that," Renee said in disbelief. "If I was in Joe's position, I'd punch her right in the face and give her a matching black eye on the other side."

"Maybe that's why you sit out here instead of standing in the ring with a title belt around your waist?" Graves suggested.

"The truth is, whether you like the way she does it or not, Vega has brought success to those guys," Coach said. "Personally, I don't like it, but I can see why they have a sense of loyalty to Zelina. That's where she was very smart; recruiting talented people who had been starved of success."

Zelina said, "Now, as I'm sure you can see, I didn't come through the match with Rousey unscathed. With that being said, since there's apparently no one in charge on Smackdown tonight, I'm going to go ahead and give myself and the rest of my cartel the night off. We'll be back next week, when I'll be the one with both the gold and the power. Let's move," she told her people, dropping the microphone and heading over to the ropes to leave the ring.

"There you have it," Graves said as the cartel's music started playing. "Zelina Vega and her cartel are going to get on their bus and leave. They'll be back next Tuesday, when, I've got to believe, Zelina will be announced as commissioner of Smackdown. If that is the case, she'll be able to hand-pick her own general manager."

"Oh, joy. Even more corruption from The Vega Cartel," Renee said sarcastically.

"Hopefully the board of directors have more sense than to name Vega as the commissioner," Coach said. "Whatever the decision is, we'll find out next week."

* * *

_Tuesday Night Smackdown – June 26th 2018 (Part One)_

For the past eight days, since the dual resignations of Stephanie McMahon and Daniel Bryan, the wrestling world had been alive with debate on who their replacements were going to be. Virtually every conceivable name had been put forward by someone, however nothing had leaked from within the company. That in itself was quite remarkable.

When the show went on the air, the atmosphere in the arena was electric with anticipation. Renee Young was standing in the ring, microphone in hand. "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Tuesday Night Smackdown!" She paused while the fans cheered. "WWE's board of directors have given me the privilege of revealing the name of the new Smackdown commissioner."

"Who's it going to be?" Coach asked, sounding as hyped up as the fans.

"I know who I'm hoping for," Graves said.

Renee sighed heavily. "Zelina Vega, can you please join me in the ring."

Outraged, the fans erupted into venomous boos as the cartel's music hit.

"Oh my God! Yes!" Graves shouted, sounding almost delirious. "It's really happening! Zelina Vega is going to be the next commissioner of Tuesday Night Smackdown!"

Zelina walked out into the arena with Bayley by her side. The Smackdown Women's Champion often worked double duty as a bodyguard for the cartel's leader.

"If that is the case, these fans are going to be livid," Coach said. "Listen to the reaction Vega is getting. They're all over her."

"Do you think she cares? She's about to named commissioner of Smackdown. We're about to witness the coronation of a Queen, Coach."

The arrogant way Zelina sauntered to the ring conveyed that she felt exactly the same way. Never in human history had someone looked so full of themselves. She climbed the ring steps and stepped through the ropes.

"Wow. Look at that look from Vega to Renee Young," Coach said. "If Zelina is indeed about to be named commissioner, you've got to believe Renee will be heading for the door in short order."

"What's that phrase Renee keeps saying all the time?" Graves asked rhetorically. "You reap what you sow. She wanted to make things personal with Zelina, now she might pay the ultimate price for it."

Zelina walked over and took a microphone from the ring announcer. When her music faded, she didn't bother waiting for Renee to say anything. "This must really suck for you, Young, huh? You've spent how long trying to give it the big I am to me, and now I'm going to be your boss."

Grimacing, Renee looked down slightly, avoiding eye contact.

"Don't worry, though, I'm not going to fire you," Vega said condescendingly. "That would be too easy. I'm going to keep you under contract, and I'm going to make you the most miserable human being on Earth. I'm going to make you beg me to fire you."

Seeing the commentator being treated like dirt, the fans started booing loudly, trying to put Zelina off her promo. "Oh, you want to boo me?" she asked, which only encouraged them even more. "Trust me, I haven't even started giving you reasons to boo me yet. We'll get into that in just a minute, when I name my hand-picked general manager. But first, we need to make things official. Renee, make your announcement. Tell the world that I am the new commissioner of Tuesday Night Smackdown."

Zelina turned to face the camera with a sickeningly smug grin on her face. Bayley stood beside her, ready to raise her arm in triumph when the announcement came.

"Here we go," Graves said, barely able to contain himself.

In the background, Renee raised her microphone, but another voice spoke before she could. It was a man's voice, speaking loudly with an English accent. The voice was familiar to many.

"Zelina Vega, I'm afraid I've got some bad news!"

The crowd erupted as Wade Barrett walked out onto the stage wearing a black business suit. His jacket was unbuttoned so that the Bad News Barrett shirt underneath it was visible.

Zelina had frozen in place for a moment. Slowly, a look of horror spread across her face and she turned to face the stage as the realisation set in that she wasn't going to get the job she had coveted.

"It's Bad News Barrett!" Coach was shouting. "Bad News Barrett is back! Is he..."

Renee's voice cut him off. "Ladies and gentlemen, the new commissioner of Tuesday Night Smackdown, Bad News Barrett!"

The crowd roared their approval, nearly taking the roof off the building. Their delight was largely due to Vega not getting the position. Even so, Barrett was greeted with a thunderous "Bad News Barrett!" chant.

In the ring, while the chant filled the arena, Zelina looked like she was trying to set Barrett on fire with the sheer hatred in the glare she was giving him. Beside her, Bayley looked mortified.

Renee had already scurried out of the ring to get back to the commentary table before any retribution might come her way.

Barrett raised his microphone to speak when the chanting began to die down. However, a new one started right away. "Welcome back!" was soon being shouted by almost everyone in the arena.

While that was happening, after some fumbling sounds, Renee came on the air. "As long as I live, I'll regret the fact that I was standing behind Zelina Vega just now. I would have loved to see her face."

"Shut up, Renee," Graves said bitterly.

"Let me repeat that," Barrett said, finally able to get a word in. "Zelina Vega, I'm afraid I've got some bad news!" That time, the catchphrase had been deafeningly echoed by the fans. "You are not the new commissioner of Tuesday Night Smackdown. That honour has been given to me, Bad News Barrett!"

Zelina was shown shaking with rage while the fans roared again.

"I was given this job by the board of directors with only two firm objectives: One, break the dominance of The Vega Cartel, and two, name a new general manager to help me achieve objective number one."

"This is a disaster," Graves said. "This is corruption. Let me remind you that Stephanie McMahon and Triple H are both on the board of directors. They've done this to Zelina," he said angrily.

"You think?" Renee said with delighted sarcasm.

"Let's start with number one, shall we?" Barrett suggested. "For now, since we have Zelina and Bayley out here, I'll deal with the two of them. We can come to the rest of the cartel later tonight. Bayley, you've managed to get the better of Carmella in all kinds of devious and underhanded ways recently, and I know she's desperate to give you the beating you thoroughly deserve. Coincidentally, the next pay-per-view event we have coming up is called Extreme Rules."

The noise in the crowd rose, while Bayley looked frightened of what she might be about to hear.

"Therefore, at that event, you will be putting the Smackdown Women's Championship on the line against Carmella one last time, in an extreme rules match!"

Bayley started trying to cry off to Zelina as the fans cheered their approval once more. Zelina seemed to be telling her underling that she would handle it.

"Don't worry about talking to her, Zelina, worry about listening to me because you're the next one I intend to address. You've been walking around for the past week blowing your own horn about how you beat Rowdy Ronda Rousey in the lion's den. Technically it's true, you did, but we all know you had plenty of help to do it."

The fans interrupted Barrett with a chant of, "Ronda Rousey!"

"I spoke to Ronda on the phone earlier today, and I have an update on her condition for you," Barrett revealed after a moment. "Despite the vicious attack she suffered from Sonya Deville at Money in the Bank, Ronda's knee injury is not serious. She will be ready to return in time for Extreme Rules, where she will meet Sonya Deville one on one."

"That's going to be one hell of a fight," Coach said.

"But that still leaves you, Vega," Barrett went on. "You see, Sonya Deville isn't the only one Ronda wants revenge on. As usual, your mouth has gotten you into trouble. You've been telling everyone you beat Ronda, so she asked me for a chance to quite literally beat you... to a pulp."

The fans went off again, then started chanting, "Yes!"

"Rousey – Vega again? I'm on-board for that," Renee said.

When Zelina was shown, it was literally impossible for her to have looked any angrier.

"Zelina's apoplectic," Graves said. "This not how she wanted tonight to go. It's the exact opposite of how she wanted it to go."

Barrett continued. "Now, one thing I know coming into this job is not to underestimate you, Zelina. You're clever, you're cunning, you find ways to win matches for yourself and your people, usually via outside interference. So, what I'm going to do is make sure you face Ronda Rousey without any interference."

Bayley was shown asking Zelina what he was talking about.

"I'm thinking the same as Bayley," Coach said. "What's Barrett talking about?"

"Bayley, I see you down there asking how I'm going to do that," the commissioner said. "It's really quite simple. There will be no outside interference because there will be no one else in the building. On Sunday, July 8th, one week before Extreme Rules, there will be a WWE Network exclusive special event on which, you, Zelina Vega, will face Rowdy Ronda Rousey in an empty arena match!"

The crowd popped again as Zelina was shown with her eyes closed, looking like she had just been diagnosed with a terminal illness.

"Rousey gets Vega in an empty arena match!" Renee cried out. "There'll be no one to help Zelina. There will be no cheating. There will be no running away. This time, Vega is going to get hers."

"No. No. No. No," Graves was saying in disbelief. "This can't be happening."

"Oh, it's happening," Coach assured him.

Barrett moved on. "Those are the announcements I had as far as the two of you are concerned. That leaves me with just one more to make before we get the first show of the Bad News Era underway."

"The Bad News Era?" Graves groaned. "This is terrible. It was supposed to be The Vega Era."

"Thank God it's not," Renee countered.

"When I accepted the job as commissioner, I had to decide who I wanted to hire as my general manager," Barrett explained. "I wanted it to be someone I could work with easily; someone I could trust; someone I have something in common with. And I found the perfect candidate," he announced with a satisfied smile. "Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the new general manager of Tuesday Night Smackdown!" He stepped to the side slightly and pointed to the entrance.

After a moment, a familiar screaming sound tore through the arena, sending the crowd into a frenzy again.

"It's Paige!" Renee yelled as the former Divas Champion entered the arena, dressed smartly to suit her new role. "Paige is Smackdown's general manager! Yes! This is incredible!"

"The English are taking over!" Coach said, hyping it up.

"I can see steam coming out of Zelina's ears," Graves said.

"Hello, Zelina," Paige said cheerily after her music faded. She was standing beside her new boss, looking thrilled to be there. "You look a little... ill?" she suggested to Vega. "Are you feeling okay? If I had to guess, I'd say you've got a high blood pressure problem going on."

Renee laughed at the taunting until Graves snapped, "This is not funny, Renee."

"I'd like to thank Bad News Barrett for hiring me as his general manager," Paige said next, giving him a smile before looking back down to the ring. "As GM, I have the authority to make matches. It's going to be a lot of fun! In fact, Zelina, I think I'll have my first crack at it right now! How about later tonight, we see Bayley in action?"

Assuming that meant nothing good for the champion, the fans cheered. Paige, however, was willing to do them one better. "How about we see Zelina Vega in action tonight?"

That drew a louder cheer. "I don't like this," Graves said fearfully.

"I'm glad you like the sound of that," Paige said to the fans. "Because Zelina, I'm afraid I've got some bad news!" The fans went off as Paige quietly added to Barrett, "I've always wanted to say that."

"What bad news?" Coach asked.

Paige provided the answer. "Tonight, we're going to see the team of Bayley and Zelina Vega take on the team of Carmella..." She paused to wait out the cheer for the fabulous one, who was now a face character. "And Sasha Banks!"

"Oh, I can't wait for that," Renee said, ecstatic, as were the fans, who nearly took the roof off the building again. "Sasha Banks owes Bayley and Vega some big time payback after they put her on the shelf for two months with an ankle injury."

"So, ladies and gentlemen," Paige said, ready to wrap up the segment. "Sit back and enjoy the first night of the Bad News Era!" The general manager and commissioner had said the final four words together.

Barrett's music hit and the management team walked off the stage together. When they were gone, Zelina and Bayley were shown leaving the ring.

"I don't think those ladies are going to enjoy it, but I sure will," Renee said happily.

Storming up the entrance ramp with her fists clenched at her sides, Vega looked ready to murder somebody.

"If I was in The Vega Cartel's locker room right now, I'd make myself scarce," Graves said. "The boss looks ready to explode."

With that, the show went to its first commercial break.


	42. Chapter 42

_Tuesday Night Smackdown – June 26th 2018 (Part Two)_

After the commercial break, the luxurious locker room belonging to The Vega Cartel was shown. The room looked like it had been set up for a big celebration of Zelina's coronation as commissioner, which of course had not come to pass. A table full of food had been meticulously presented, and there were two bottles of champagne sitting in ice buckets.

All of the cartel members were cowering at one end of the room as Zelina screamed with uncontrollable rage and swiped a couple of expensive-looking salad platters off the table. "This was supposed to be my night!" she thundered.

Next, she took one of the champagne bottles and hurled it across the room, sending it smashing against the wall near the door. "I was supposed to be in charge of this damn place!"

The next thing her eyes settled on was the flat screen TV on the wall. With another furious roar, she pulled it off the wall and smashed in to the floor. Even that wasn't enough. She picked up a steel chair and started bashing the TV screen in with it. "And now I have to fight Rousey again!" she shrieked at the top of her voice.

"My God, Vega has totally lost it," Coach said.

Once the TV was completely wrecked, Zelina walked over to a huge framed picture of The Vega Cartel that had been put up on the opposite wall.

"No. Don't smash that up," Graves said.

Breathing heavily Zelina drew the chair black to strike a blow that would certainly shatter the glass. Just before swinging, she closed her eyes, trying to find some composure.

"Boss?" Bobby ventured timidly. "We need to do something about your match tonight."

Zelina turned and glared at him, her expression pure evil, but her anger wasn't directed at him. "I've got an idea," she said eventually, voice thick with rage as she threw the chair aside. "With me. Now."

As the cartel followed their leader out of the locker room, Renee laughed. "This is the best day ever. Everything's gone upside down for Vega, and I really couldn't be happier about it."

"But where's she going now?" Graves asked.

"I have no idea, but I know where she'll be going later tonight. She'll be going in the ring with Bayley to take on Carmella and Sasha Banks. Not only did Vega fail to get the commissioner's job, she's going to get her butt kicked by the end of the night as well."

* * *

Later in the night, when Smackdown came back from commercial for the women's tag team match, Carmella was already in the ring.

"Welcome back," Renee said. "There you see Carmella in the ring, ready to meet Bayley and Zelina Vega momentarily. This is a match I've been looking forward to all night. This already has to be the worst night in the history of The Vega Cartel, and I'm personally hoping that Vega's about to get kicked while she's down."

Sasha Banks' music hit, to a generous ovation.

"Here comes Carmella's partner," Coach said as Sasha walked onto the stage with her newly-won briefcase. "Sasha Banks, otherwise known as Ms Money in the Bank. Let's not forget the importance of the briefcase here, guys. With all due respect to Zelina Vega…"

"Not that she's due any," Renee chirped.

"With a due respect to Zelina Vega," Coach tried again. "She isn't a wrestler. She's only ever had two matches, yet she's about to step into the ring as Bayley's partner against Carmella and Banks. If I'm Bayley, the Smackdown Women's Champion, I'm worried that I'm basically about to get myself into a handicap match, and that one of my opponents could cash in for a championship match at any moment."

"I hadn't thought about that," Graves said, sounding nervous about the prospect. "Surely nothing else can go wrong for the cartel tonight, can it? Zelina always knows what she's doing."

"Like smashing her locker room up?" Renee asked pointedly. "Yeah, she looked totally under control."

Sasha had completed her entrance. She exchanged a few words with Carmella; both women seeming to be relishing the prospect of issuing a beating to Bayley and Vega.

Boos greeted The Vega Cartel's music. When the two women walked into the arena, Zelina looked slightly less angry than she had been an hour earlier in the locker room. It was notable that she was still dressed the same way, too.

"And here they come," Renee said. "Bayley and Zelina Vega, who were put in this match by Paige, our new general manager. And that wasn't all."

"No, it wasn't," Coach said. "Bad News Barrett, Smackdown's new commissioner, made a match for Extreme Rules between Carmella and Bayley for the Smackdown Women's Championship, and he made it an extreme rules match. That's one I'm really looking forward to, and I know Carmella will be as well."

"Then things got even worse," Graves said. "Barrett announced a special WWE Network exclusive event the week before Extreme Rules, where Zelina Vega will be forced to face Rowdy Ronda Rousey in an empty arena match. That is a truly appalling prospect."

"Yes, how appalling," Renee replied sarcastically. "What a terrible thing that Vega might have to stand up and fight herself instead of hiding behind others and pulling their little puppet strings all the time."

"Be quiet, Renee," Graves told her. "Zelina's got something to say."

It was true. The leader of the cartel was in the ring with Bayley, who had fetched a microphone for her. "If our so-called new commissioner and general manager had the first idea about how to do their jobs," Zelina said patronisingly, "they would have known that I am still injured and unable to compete following the lion's den match at Money in the Bank."

"Oh, bull," Renee mumbled. The fans agreed, booing.

"Careful," Coach warned her.

"But, Sasha and Carmella, I'm happy to tell you that there will be no forfeit," Vega said, her customary smug expression returning as she wagged her finger at the two women. "I was able to find a replacement for myself at the last minute. That's right, at the last minute. And here she is, my new hired security, Sonya Deville!"

Another chorus of boss rained down as Sonya's music hit. Wearing her usual stern-faced expression, she walked onto the stage twirling her police baton around in what was now her customary manner.

"Hired security?" Coach queried.

"I don't blame Zelina for hiring security for herself," Graves said. "It's tough at the top, and she has a lot of people gunning for her, not least our new management team, who are supposed to be impartial, by the way."

"How can Barret or Paige be impartial when Vega and her crew are running roughshod over Smackdown?" Renee demanded. "Something needs to be done about them, and I believe that now, it will be."

Coach returned to talking about Sonya as she walked to the ring. "Sonya Deville is the woman who attacked Ronda Rousey in the lion's den match at Money in the Bank, and in most people's opinions cost Ronda the victory. Deville went to town with that police baton, inflicting a knee injury that will keep Rousey out until Extreme Rules."

"And let's not forget that Sonya also kicked Zelina Vega in the face and knocked her out during that match. Deville certainly didn't have any loyalty to Vega that night, but apparently that has now changed."

"Everyone has a price," Graves said. "And you've seen that Vega tour bus. Zelina has plenty of money to throw at someone like Deville. The game just changed for anyone that wants to get their hands on Zelina; they've got to go through Sonya now."

Sonya had reached the ring, and stood there listening while Zelina issued her with some instructions.

"Deville's taking orders from Vega now," Renee said. "You've got to believe this isn't only good news for Vega, it's got to be good news for Bayley, too. She's got some serious backup in the ring with her now, and moving forward. Sonya's presence will give Sasha Banks something to think about before any potential Money in the Bank cash in."

"Vega is telling Deville to start the match, presumably to protect Bayley," Coach reported.

* * *

Ten minutes later, Carmella got a three count on Bayley after a Mella Buster.

"Carmella pins the champion!" Renee called out. "Carmella and Banks win!"

"Wait a minute!" Coach cried as soon as she had finished her sentence.

Sonya had just charged back into the ring from the outside, bringing her police baton with her. Carmella was getting up to celebrate her win, but she took a stiff baton shot to the back, sending her collapsing to the canvas.

"Get her, Sonya!" Graves encouraged. "This is what you get when you cross The Vega Cartel. Zelina has herself some serious security now."

"Deville wearing out Carmella," Renee said, objecting strongly to the actions she was witnessing.

The crowd were booing Sonya, but they cheered loudly when Sasha appeared back in the ring and charged her from behind.

"Banks going after Deville!" Coach called out. "Look at those right hands!"

Sonya staggered back into the corner of the ring, but she was still holding her baton. The moment of separation gave her the chance to swing it, connecting with Sasha's stomach.

"That damn baton again," Renee said. "Now Banks is down."

"Sonya going to work again!" Graves said, pleased. "First Carmella, now Banks!"

Bayley finally made it back to her feet. Hauling Carmella's limp body up from the mat, she delivered a stiff Bayley-to-belly suplex.

After glancing over at Sonya, who had decided she had done enough damage, Bayley beckoned Zelina to come into the ring.

"Oh, of course, here we go," Renee sighed, barely audible over the cacophony of boos and abuse that greeted Vega entering under the bottom rope. "Now that both Carmella and Banks have been taken out, suddenly Vega can get in the ring. She makes me so angry!"

"I'd never have known," Graves quipped.

Bayley grabbed the almost lifeless Sasha and lifted her to a kneeling position. Sonya stopped her head from drooping by putting the end of her baton under her chin, making her look into the eyes of Zelina, who crouched in front of her.

"You want to come back and take me on, Banks?" Vega yelled, venting more anger. "You want to take on my cartel? This is where it gets you! You want to win Money in the Bank and come after Bayley? You can come, because there's plenty more where this came from!"

With that, Zelina turned and ran towards the ropes. She rebounded from them and hit Banks with a perfect spike hurracanrana. Bayley celebrated the final nail in the coffin with some angry words to Banks, while Sonya coldly nodded her approval of the destruction.

"Vega, Bayley and Deville have taken out Carmella and Sasha Banks," Coach said. "As usual, they used an attack from behind, a weapon, and a numbers advantage to do it, but that's how the cartel roll."

"I'll tell you what the cartel used," Graves fired back while a shot of Sonya was on the screen. "They used that woman, Sonya Deville, Zelina's new head of security. Sonya's tough; she's uncompromising; she's vicious; she's on the Vega payroll."

The trio were about to celebrate together, but Paige's music hit, drawing a cheer from the crowd. "Nothing changes does it, Zelina?" she asked over the top of it as she walked out through the curtain. The music faded quickly. "As always, you prove yourself to be a coward. You claim an injury before the match and go hire yourself some backup, yet when the match is over, you're suddenly fine."

"Vega thinks people were born yesterday," Renee scoffed as Zelina was shown looking pissed off at the interruption.

"Well, congratulations," Paige continued. "You've hired Sonya Deville. I know first hand how tough she is. There's no doubt about it. And she's going to need to be, next week."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Graves asked.

Zelina asked a similar question, joined by the women standing either side of her.

"Zelina, you obviously wanted to get your hands on Sasha so badly." Paige said. "Next week, you'll have the chance to do it again, when you team up with Bayley and Sonya to take on the team of Carmella, Sasha Banks and their partner, Becky Lynch!"

"Oh, yes!" Renee exclaimed over a loud cheer. "What a match that's going to be!"

"Oh," Paige said, as if she had nearly forgotten something. "Zelina, if you don't compete in that match next week, I'll strip Bayley of the Women's Championship," she said matter of fact.

Coach laughed while the crowd went off again and Paige's music played to signal the end of the segment. "No trickery or weaselling out next week for Zelina Vega. She will be in the ring, and she will be competing."

"I hate this Bad News Era," Graves said sourly. "And you can tell Zelina feels the same way."

Vega had just left the ring, looking furious, with Bayley and Sonya just behind her. Bayley also looked angry, whereas Deville was just doing her job.

"I'm afraid I've got some bad news for her," Renee said joyfully. "It doesn't matter what she thinks, least of all to Barrett and Paige. Vega is going to have to get used to towing the line and obeying orders, or her life isn't going to be worth living."


	43. Chapter 43

Seth had managed to get up, put some clothes on and leave the bedroom without waking Zelina. For a man of his size, he could move quietly when he wanted to.

He made his way down the stairs and into the kitchen, where he set about making a strong coffee for himself and a herbal tea for Zelina. He would take it upstairs and give it to her as a nice little surprise to wake up to.

Yawning while he waited for the coffee machine do its work, Seth nearly missed the quiet buzz of his phone vibrating on the work surface where he had just put it. It was early for someone to be texting him. He picked up the phone and read the short message.

_Roman Reigns: Hey. I hope you're okay?_

"Huh?" Seth asked out loud. Why wouldn't he be okay? He didn't understand the question. It didn't even make sense for Roman to be using it as some kind of weird hint about keeping in touch, since they had spent an hour on the phone to each other only a couple of days earlier. Maybe Roman was actually making an awkward job of trying to say that he wasn't okay himself? Seth decided on his response.

_I'm good. You?_

He only had to wait a few seconds for a reply.

_Roman Reigns: You haven't seen Twitter, have you?_

"Oh, shit. What's happened now?" Seth sighed. All kinds of scenarios quickly ran through his head, ranging from one of his friends being released by WWE, to someone he knew having passed away.

With real apprehension, he opened the Twitter app. The first thing he noticed was that no name he recognised was trending, including his own. That was a good start.

His next step was to search his own name. That soon provided him with his answer. "Fuck it," he muttered, looking at the top tweet that came up. It was from one of the biggest dirt sheet accounts.

 _'Multiple sources inside WWE confirm Seth Rollins and Zelina Vega are dating_.'

That was that, then. Someone had seen or heard something they shouldn't have, and as was usually the case in WWE, the news had spread like wild fire. Now it was on Twitter, and would spread just as fast there. There was nothing to be done about it; they were now public.

Shaking his head with resignation, Seth supposed they hadn't done too badly to make it four months before this happened. It was long enough to avoid the strong criticism and condemnation they would both likely have received if the news had leaked when they first got together.

Tapping on the tweet, Seth figured he should risk a look at the comments underneath. The top one was a gif of him and Zelina taken from who the hell knew what footage. They were at a public appearance somewhere. It showed Zelina turning to look to look up at him at the same time as he turned and looked down at her. Their eyes met and they smiled at each other.

The person who had posted the gif had added the caption: I ship it so hard I'm dying, followed by a bunch of crying faces.

Having a quick scroll down the comments, Seth was pleased and pleasantly surprised to see only positivity. It definitely wasn't nice to have his personal life splashed all over the internet, but it sadly came with the job. Things could have been a lot worse, he reasoned.

Another message came through from Roman, having figured he would have seen what was going on by now.

_Roman Reigns: Ride it out for a week or two and it will blow over._

Seth knew he was talking about the gossiping in the locker rooms at work, not Twitter. From this point, it would never completely blow over on Twitter. Their relationship was out there now for fans to be happy or angry about, and some of them would not be shy in letting him or Zelina know how they felt. If Dean and Renee were anything to go by, Zelina would soon be blocking her share of weird fangirls. Before fixing the tea and coffee, he replied to Roman.

_Thanks, bro. Now I've got to go tell Zelina._

_Roman Reigns: Good luck. Take care of her._

_Always._

That one word was all Seth needed to send back. He had failed to be there for her once. After what David Hernandez had done to her, it would never happen again.

With the two drinks in hand, he made his way back upstairs a couple of minutes later.

"I'm awake, baby," Zelina called out sleepily from the bedroom, apparently thinking he was trying not to disturb her.

"I made you a tea, muñeca," he said as he walked into the room, finding her just sitting up in the bed.

"Aww, thank you," she smiled, stretching up to accept the kiss he leaned down to offer.

"I've, uh, got some bad news," he said, handing her the cup of tea.

"No, it's, 'I'm afraid I've got some bad news!'" she said, in her best English accent, before the reality of what she was saying sunk in. "Wait, do you really have bad news?"

"Yeah," Seth sighed, sitting down on the edge of the bed next to her. He didn't see a way to sugar coat it, so decided to just come out with it. "I don't know who saw or heard what, but it's all over Twitter that we're dating. 'Confirmed by multiple sources inside WWE,' he added with air quotations.

Zelina closed her eyes for a second and sighed. "What's the reaction like?"

"Positive, from what I saw," he said, trying to sound a little more upbeat.

"Well, that's good. I mean, this was going to happen at some point. The leak, I mean. We're lucky we kept it quiet this long, honestly."

Seth was surprised by her reasoned reaction, but upon reflection he told himself that he probably shouldn't have been. That was the character his girl possessed. She never saw negatives in any situation where a positive could be found. It was one of the things he loved most dearly about her. "You will get some whack jobs on your case," he warned her.

"Yeah," she said, sipping her tea. "But I prepared myself for that a long time ago, when I realised we were serious. I knew this day was coming. Anyone I see saying something nasty gets a block. They're not going to upset me, Seth, I promise."

Heartened by that, Seth reached over for another kiss. "I love you, you know that?"

"I did know that," she smiled sweetly.

Feeling happy, Seth decided to spoil her some more. "I'm going to go back down there and make you some breakfast, and you're going to stay right there."

"Only if you let me make dinner tonight," Zelina said, not wanting to be the only one being treated so well.

"That's the kind of deal I like," Seth smiled, getting up and heading for the door.

Sipping at her tea again, Zelina felt warm inside. Her man was so caring and considerate of her all the time; she really was lucky to have him. She was proud to be dating him, and in a way glad that she didn't have to hide it anymore. She had been telling the truth when she had told him that a few basket cases on Twitter wouldn't get to her. Her feed was always full of positivity. In this day and age, a lot of fans knew what the person behind the character was like, and supported her based on that.

What did concern her was how her colleagues in the women's locker room might react to the news. Sonya and Bayley were friends, and they had both known for some time anyway. But what about the others? That was anyone's guess. She hoped they would all be supportive, but there was no guarantee of it.

She picked her phone up off the nightstand and loaded the Twitter app. As expected, her feed was on fire. She liked a few supportive tweets from some names she recognised, then stopped scrolling. "There it is," she sighed.

She was looking at a gif of a woman sucking some guy's cock. It had the caption: I guess we know where Zelina Vega got her push from.

"There's block number one," she said, wondering how many others felt the same way as that person. As if she would sleep with a guy just because he had more stroke in WWE than she did. What a preposterous thing to think. But some people would think it.

By the time Seth returned with her breakfast, Zelina had realised another consequence of the news breaking on Twitter. "Thank you, baby," she said when he gently sat the breakfast tray on her lap. "You know there's something we have to do now."

"Yeah, tell our families," he said, on the same wavelength. "After breakfast, we'll get on the phone."

* * *

A couple of hours later, WWE's newest official couple were sitting on the lawn in their garden, enjoying the mid-morning sun. The job of informing both families about their relationship was done. Naturally, everyone they had spoken to had been supportive and happy for them.

"No more secrecy, then," Zelina said, nestling up close to Seth as he put an arm around her.

"Nope," he agreed, resting his chin on the top of her head in a protective and loving gesture that neither of them even realised he often did. It just felt natural to them to hold each other so closely, and that was the posture they were now used to.

"You know what we should do?" she suggested after a minute of comfortable silence.

"What's that, muñeca?"

"We should post a selfie. People seeing us sitting together in a garden the day before I fight Ronda in the empty arena match, when everyone knows no one is on the road because there are no shows tonight, will definitely confirm we're a couple without us saying, 'Yes, we're together.' Now that the news is out there, the fuss will die down faster if people aren't guessing about whether it's true or not."

"Are you sure?" he asked with a note of caution. "I mean, I'm up for it, but let's be sure before we..."

Zelina wriggled out of his embrace so that she could look into his eyes. "I'm sure. I'm totally sure. I'm happy and proud to be with you. If people are going to know, let them know. I'm done hiding you. I'm ready to tell the world that Seth Rollins is my man."

"That's so sweet," Seth said, feeling genuinely touched. "I feel the same way, babe. Alright, let's get a selfie. Come here." He stretched his arm out so that she could cuddle back up to him again.

"I'll get the picture," she said, getting her phone ready. Once the camera was loaded, she held the phone out in front of them and they both smiled.

"That's really nice," Seth said when she showed him the resulting picture.

"Yeah, it is. I'll put it up now."

"RIP Twitter, 2018," Seth chuckled.

Smiling, Zelina uploaded the picture, adding a simple caption:  _Hi, guys!_

Seth was already on Twitter on his own phone. "Watch that go wild," he said.

And it did. They both just sat there for a few minutes, watching her tweet rack up retweets, likes and comments like there was no tomorrow.

"Look at these ship names people are posting," Zelina giggled. "They're all terrible."

"I know," Seth laughed. "Someone is getting loads of likes for calling us Sega. They've posted the Sega logo."

"Oh, God, really? Sega?" she laughed hysterically. "That's so bad, I might even like it. Maybe we'll have to start making Sonic games? Hey, look, someone else has put Sethlina."

"That sounds like I've had a sex change," he said.

Zelina collapsed backwards onto the grass in hysterics. Her laugh was always contagious to Seth, and he found himself laughing along with her.

"I can't breathe," she gasped through her laughter, tears trickling down her cheeks.

"Oh, God," Seth said, wiping his own eyes and trying to calm down. He most certainly hadn't expected them to be laughing like that only a couple of hours after getting Roman's text message. It was the right way to be, though. He and Zelina were as happy as could be. If anyone had an issue with that, that was their problem, as far as he was concerned.


	44. Chapter 44

_WWE Network Special Event – Empty Arena Match – July 8th 2018_

Camera shots panning around empty stands greeted the viewers at the start of what promised to be an extraordinary occasion.

"Welcome, everyone, to this WWE Network exclusive event. Renee Young here alongside Jonathan Coachman and Corey Graves."

"This is weird, Renee," Coach said. "The only people in this entire building are the three of us, Greg Hamilton up there in the ring ready introduce our competitors, referee Mike Chioda, and of course the two women who are going to come out here and fight each other momentarily."

"That's right, Coach," Graves said. "Tuesday Night Smackdown's commissioner, Bad News Barrett, made this match between Rowdy Ronda Rousey and Zelina Vega as part of his ridiculous agenda to take out The Vega Cartel. Personally, I'm pulling for Zelina."

"Never mind that," Renee said dismissively. "Let's go over the rules of this match. They're actually quite simple. The match can only end by pinfall or submission, and the decision can happen anywhere in this empty arena."

Coach said, "That means no disqualifications. Anything in the building can be used as a weapon."

"Let's get the action underway," Renee said as the shot changed to show Hamilton standing in the ring.

"This contest is an empty arena match, scheduled for one fall." There was no one to repeat him.

The Vega Cartel's music hit. It sounded strange to be able to actually hear the intro, since it was usually drowned out by booing.

"Here she comes," Graves said proudly as Zelina entered the arena, dressed in the same outfit of black sweatshirt and black jeans that she had worn in the lion's den match. "The leader of The Vega Cartel. The only woman in WWE who has defeated Ronda Rousey to date. I'm backing her to do so again here."

"Vega had plenty of help from Sonya Deville that night," Renee reminded everyone. "That won't be happening tonight. If Vega's going to win, she's going to do it by herself, and I just can't see that happening."

"I have to agree," Coach said. "But I will say that Vega doesn't look scared; she looks ready."

"Of course she's ready," Graves scoffed.

Hamilton made his announcement. "Introducing first, from Queens, New York, Zelina Vega!"

By the time he finished, Zelina was in the ring, limbering up, ready to go. Contrary to what many people might have expected, she hadn't brought a weapon with her. Her music faded, and she noticeably took a deep breath. Some nerves were inevitable, given who was about to come out to face her.

"And here we go!" Renee called out when Bad Reputation began to play and Ronda walked through the curtain. "Rowdy Ronda Rousey enters an arena for the first time since Money in the Bank, where she sustained an injury to her left knee at the hands of Vega and Deville."

Ronda was wearing her white Hot Ronda shirt and a pair of blue jeans. She also had her wrists taped. Both women were dressed to fight, not to wrestle.

Hamilton made his final announcement. "And her opponent, from Venice, California, Rowdy Ronda Rousey!"

"It's a shame Ronda has jeans on because I'd love to see if she has any strapping on that knee," Graves said. "Bad News Barrett told us this past Tuesday that Rousey is one hundred per-cent coming into this match. If that is the case, that really is some bad news."

"That depends if you like sucking up to Vega or not," Renee said pointedly. "You do know she doesn't even notice you, right, Corey?"

Coach laughed. "Don't say that, you'll ruin his life."

Ronda entered the ring and stood in her corner, eyes locked on Zelina with that especially fierce death glare that only she could produce.

"Look at that face," Renee said. "It sends chills down my spine sitting out here, let alone standing across the ring from Ronda."

Chioda checked that both women were ready, then called for the bell. As soon as it sounded, Zelina turned and ran out of the ring.

"Vega taking off running right away," Renee said, annoyed but not surprised. "But look at Rousey!"

If there was a knee injury, it wasn't stopping Ronda from running as fast as Zelina, to the smaller woman's horror.

"Vega vaults clean over the ringside barricade," Coach called. "And Rousey's catching her!"

It was true. Zelina made it halfway up to the exit door to the concourse before Ronda caught up to her and slammed a stiff forearm into her back, knocking her down.

"And so it begins," Renee said while Ronda started slamming stiff left hands into Zelina's head and arms as she tried her best to cover up.

"Come on, Ronda, let her up!" Chioda shouted, trying to get in between them.

Ronda stood up and shoved him away. "Get out of my face! There's no rules, you idiot!"

Chioda held his hands up in acknowledgement of his error. The brief confrontation had given Zelina the chance to get up and run again.

"What's Vega planning to do, run away all night?" Coach asked. "There's only one way she's going to stop Rousey coming after her, and that's to beat her."

Zelina rushed out into the empty concourse. Looking back in fear to see where Ronda was, she tripped over her own feet and fell.

"Ah! Get up, quick!" Graves shouted as the shot changed to show Ronda marching out into the concourse like a Terminator stalking a target. The way she walked and the look on her face would have made her perfect for a role in one of those movies.

Vega got up as quickly as she could, but Rousey caught her for the second time. This time the smaller woman was hurled through the air like she weighed nothing more than a tennis ball, crashing back first into a metal shutter that was closed over one of the food kiosks.

"Look at the power!" Renee cried. "Terrifying from Ronda Rousey!"

"Zelina could have a broken back," Graves panicked. "Bad News Barrett, this is on you!"

Apparently Zelina didn't have a broken back, for she was already up and stumbling off along the concourse. Ronda set off after her, again in Terminator mode.

"Vega's got nothing," Renee said. "No backup; no help; no plan. All she's doing is trying to stay away from Rousey."

A short distance along the concourse, Zelina blundered her way into the women's bathrooms.

"Zelina, not in there! You've cornered yourself!" Graves called out.

A cameraman followed along behind Terminator Rousey as she methodically walked around the corner into the bathroom's entrance. That was when the match's first surprise happened.

"Wait!" Renee shouted as a baseball bat connected with Ronda's stomach, sending her to the floor, screaming in pain. "Vega with a baseball bat! Where did she get that from?"

"Vega was hiding around the corner with a baseball bat!" Coach took over. "Rousey walked straight into an ambush! Zelina must have hid that bat there in advance."

Now with the upper hand, Vega raised the bat high in the air and brought it crashing down onto Rousey's stomach.

"I thought you said Zelina didn't have a plan?" Graves said happily. "She's always got a plan, Renee!"

As usual, as soon as she had the upper hand, Zelina started to run her mouth. "That's the difference between you and me, Rousey! You might be tough, but you've got nothing going on up here!" She tapped the side of her head, meaning that Ronda had no brain.

"Rousey trying to crawl away now," Renee said. "Those were two brutal ball bat shots to the stomach. Ronda could have internal bleeding."

Merciless, Vega brought the bat crashing down on Rousey's back.

Graves said, "I don't care who she is, Ronda can't take much more of this. No human being could."

"Come on, Rousey!" Zelina shouted, taking up a proper baseball stance, ready to swing the bat. "I see a juicy fast ball coming, and it's going for a home run!"

Gasping for breath, Rousey struggled to her feet. As she turned around, Vega swung the bat as hard as she could. Unfortunately for her, Ronda was already lunging forward, jumping underneath the swing. She took Zelina down with a spear-like move and the bat ended up flying across the bathroom, out of reach of both women.

Somehow, Ronda was the first one to her feet. Her eyes settled for a moment on a door to one of the stalls, which was locked shut and had an 'Out Of Order' sign taped to it.

Grabbing hold of Vega, Rousey hurled her through the air for the second time in the match. This time, she went crashing through the door, breaking the lock open with the impact.

Wasting no time, Ronda went into the cubicle after her. Suspiciously, the water in the toilet bowl was yellow. Bending down, Ronda grabbed Zelina by the hair.

"No! No!" Zelina screamed, knowing what was coming.

"Ahhh!" Graves screamed when Zelina's face was rammed into the toilet bowl and Ronda pushed the button to flush. The bowl wouldn't drain, presumably the reason the cubicle had been locked, and it filled to the brim with the yellow water, with Zelina's head still stuffed into it.

Ronda eventually let go and walked out of the cubicle, leaving Zelina lying on the floor, hair plastered to her head, gasping and crying out in horror at what had been done to her.

Renee was beside herself with laughter on commentary. "I swear to God, as long as I live, I'm never going to see anything better than that."

Standing in the doorway to the cubicle, Ronda threw a bunch of paper towels at Zelina and said, "Wipe that piss off your face, Vega." Apparently she didn't care about keeping her language PG.

For the next twenty minutes, the two women fought around the empty backstage areas, with Ronda having the upper hand for most of the fight. No one even attempted a pinfall or submission.

Eventually, the action spilled out into the outdoor parking area. There were only a few cars out there, and a couple of production trucks.

With the fight making it's way over towards where a couple of cars were parked, Zelina got the upper hand with a rake of the eyes.

"Desperation move by Vega," Renee said.

"But legal," Graves was quick to clarify.

Temporarily blinded, Ronda rushed at Zelina in an attempt to turn defence into attack. It proved to be a seriously bad idea because Vega sidestepped and used Rousey's momentum to smash her head through the driver's side window of the closest car.

"Oh, God!" Renee cried. "Ronda went head first through that glass! She could be out cold! This could be it!"

Vega was quick to take advantage. She pulled Ronda's lifeless-looking body out of the window and let it drop to the floor. Next, she reached through the broken window and unlocked the car door.

"What's Zelina doing?" Coach asked as she opened the door.

"I have no idea," Graves admitted.

Zelina dragged Ronda over to the open door and bundled her through the opening, leaving her lying across the driver and passenger seats. With that done, she slammed the door shut and shouted through the window, "Beating you isn't enough for me, Rousey!"

Vega turned and walked away across the parking area, a cameraman following behind her.

"Uh, what's going on?" Renee asked.

"Now wait a minute," Coach said as if things were going way too far. He had seen that Zelina was heading towards one of the huge semi units that pulled the WWE production trucks. It had been unhooked from whatever trailer it belonged to and parked at the side of the parking area.

Zelina stood in front of the monterous machine, looking up at with a wide-eyed, almost manic expression on her face.

"Now wait a minute," Renee said with concern. "Look at that evil look on Vega's face! She can't possibly be thinking of..."

"She is!" Graves called out as Zelina stormed around to the driver's door. She pulled it open and climbed up the steps, slamming the door shut behind herself.

"Let's hope the keys aren't in..." Coach stopped mid-sentence because the powerful engine roared into life, belching exhaust fumes out of the two pipes behind the cab.

"Get her out of there!" Renee shouted.

"Rousey!" Zelina screamed from inside the cab. "This is what happens to anyone who gets on the wrong side of Zelina Vega!"

A loud hiss came from the airbrakes, and the truck's engine roared again as it took off across the parking lot.

The shot changed to show the car that Ronda had been shut in. "No!" Renee screamed, with the truck thundering across the parking area, Zelina leaning on the horn for extra effect. The massive semi slammed into the car at full speed, crushing it against the wall that it was parked next to.

"Oh my God!" Coach shouted. "Zelina Vega just crushed that car with a truck! Ronda Rousey was in there!"

The truck's engine was cut and Zelina climbed down out of the cab. "That showed you once and for all, Ronda," she said, walking over to the remains of the car to inspect the damage.

"Okay, I'll admit Zelina went too far," Graves said. "But you can put this on Barrett. This is his..." He stopped mid-sentence.

With Zelina trying to peer into the wrecked car, Ronda came marching around the back of the truck behind her, in her Terminator walk again, only now with her face bloodied from when her head had gone through the car window.

"Zelina! Look out!" Graves yelled.

"Rousey wasn't in the car!" Renee realised.

Zelina sensed someone approaching and whipped round, but not quickly enough. Ronda hit her with a sledgehammer of a left hand, sending her staggering in the direction of the entrance back into the building.

"What a left hand!" Coach called out. "How didn't that put Vega down?"

Zelina was in full retreat, staggering away, but Ronda went after her in that same methodical walk. As soon as she was in range, she delivered another bone-jarring left hand to Zelina's jaw. This time Vega did go down.

Saying nothing, Rousey roughly dragged Vega up off the ground. They were now back near the entrance to the building. Off to one side was a huge window, looking into some kind of security office where visitors would check in upon arrival. Before any of the commentators even had a chance to react, Ronda launched Zelina through the air again, this time with even more power than before. The smaller women crashed clean through the window with an explosion of glass.

"Oh, God! No! Zelina!" Graves screamed.

"Vega just went through a plate glass window!" Renee shouted.

A cameraman went over to get a shot of Zelina, who was lying on her back, unconscious, surrounded by and covered in broken glass.

Graves let out a horrified moan. "Rousey, what have you done?"

Ronda made short work of kicking the door in to get into the office. Chioda followed her inside. She walked over to the motionless Zelina and placed a foot on her stomach to constitute a pinning predicament.

Chioda carefully got down in the glass and awkwardly made a count.

One.

Two.

Three.

Lying there selling being unconscious, Zelina found herself thinking that whoever made the special glass that was used in stunts like the one she had just performed was a genius. From what she could tell, she didn't have a single cut on her body. It was remarkable.

What she did have was plenty of aches and pains. As she had known coming in, being beaten around an empty arena by Ronda hadn't been a comfortable experience. Even her working punches came seriously hard, and she hadn't held back when it had come to throwing her around the place, either. Zelina could feel her back bruising up already from the impact against the metal kiosk shutter early in the piece.

Hearing Ronda walking away without saying a word, Zelina knew the cameras would follow her back into the building, and the broadcast would soon go off air. Before then, the commentators would be talking about Zelina Vega being taken out by Rowdy Ronda Rousey.

Once the show ended, she could go take a shower, thank God. Even if it had been the cleanest toilet in the world, filled with fake piss, her head had still been shoved into it. What a spot to give me, she thought, imagining how much the audience must have loved it. The resulting memes would be interesting.

"Okay, we're off air, Zelina," a crew member said, entering the office. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," she told him, awkwardly trying to get up. Now that she had spent a minute lying still, her back had started stiffening up.

"Here," the guy said, offering a helping hand.

"Thank you." She accepted the help, then brushed the worst of the fake glass off her clothes. Getting it all out of her hair would have to wait until she was in the shower.

She took her time walking towards the door, getting used to what her back would let her do without protesting too much.

"Zelina?" It was Ronda's voice, coming from the entrance to the arena.

"Hey," she called back. Seeing Ronda walk back out into the parking area, she loved that WWE had allowed them to use a blood back for the final scene. The way Ronda had looked when she had walked around the back of the truck must have been epic. She still looked badass now, even out of character.

"You okay?" Ronda asked, hurrying over.

"Yeah," Zelina smiled. "I'd hug you, but my back is bruising up pretty well. I'm stiff as a board."

Ronda had a guilty expression on her face. "Sorry. I've hurt you both times now."

Zelina just grinned. "I got a shot or two in myself."

"You sure did." Ronda lifted the bottom of her shirt, revealing some seriously nasty bruising coming up on one side of her stomach.

Eyes widening, Zelina realised where it had come from. "Oh, fuck! I got you with the bat? I'm really sorry."

"The first one," Ronda revealed. "I thought I was in the shit for a moment."

In that moment, Zelina found a whole new respect for Ronda. She had fought on for the best part of half an hour after taking a full-on baseball bat strike to the stomach. The girl must have been made of concrete or something.

"Don't look so guilty," Ronda said as they started walking towards the arena door. She put a friendly arm around Zelina's shoulders. "It was a good fight. Friendships can start over fights like that."

Zelina smiled at that comment, imagining someone asking her how she became friends with Ronda Rousey. She gave the answer in her head. 'I hit her with a baseball bat and tried to kill her with a truck. She flushed my head down a toilet full of piss and threw me through a plate glass window. Good times.'


	45. Chapter 45

The idea behind the finish of the empty arena match was that Zelina Vega had been taken out by Ronda Rousey. For that reason, not being needed for live events, she had been given an entire week off to spend at home.

Sadly, it had been spent without Seth, who had been on the road as normal, working the live events with the rest of the cartel. The break had been much-needed, giving her the chance to rest up her badly bruised back. For the first couple of days, simply walking around had been tough.

At least the match with Ronda had been well received, even if it had come at a physical price for both of them. Ronda had come out of it looking a million bucks, and was now the subject of 'Rondanator' memes, after fans had likened the way she had conducted herself to a Terminator.

Now, a week after the empty arena match, arriving for the Extreme Rules pay-per-view, Zelina still wasn't quite walking normally. It was as if she actually had been in a fight with a Terminator. But that was the least of her concerns. She was about to walk into the women's locker room for the first time since her relationship with Seth had gone public, and she was uncertain how she would be received by her colleagues.

"Wish me luck," she said to Seth when they reached the door to the Smackdown women's locker room.

"You won't need it, muñeca," he told her, giving her a kiss on the forehead.

"Wish me it anyway."

Seth smiled. "Alright. Good luck."

"Thank you, baby." Zelina reached up for a peck on the lips, then turned and opened the door.

During the week off, she had imagined that moment many times. She had wondered if she might be greeted with silence and everyone staring at her. The reality couldn't have been more different. No one paid any more attention to her than they usually would have. A couple of people said hi as she made her way over to her usual place between Sonya and Bayley, and that was it.

"Zel!" Sonya said happily. "Good to see you, girl. How's the recovery going?"

Zelina smiled. "I'm not far from top form, thanks. My back is a bit stiff still, but I'm not on the show tonight, so it doesn't really matter."

"We're glad you came anyway," Bayley smiled. "The bus was weird without you."

"I hope you and Daga kicked Seth out of the double bed?" Zelina grinned.

"No chance of that. You'd have to set fire to it to get him out of it."

"He really kept it to himself?"

"Yeah. I mean, I didn't ask him not to, so..."

"You should have," Zelina said, thinking that Bayley was too soft for her own good sometimes. She decided to move on. It was even more surprising that Elena hadn't said something. "So, what's the plan for tonight?"

Sonya picked up her copy of the formats for the event and handed them over. Zelina headed for the page concerning Seth's title match first. He was booked to retain. "Seth's going over," she said happily.

"I think he'll have the belt for a while," Bayley said.

"What about you?" Zelina asked her, turning to the relevant page. She read over what was planned for Bayley - Carmella. "Holy shit," was her verdict.

"That about covers it," Sonya chuckled.

They chatted about the formats for a few minutes, including Bobby and Joe retaining their titles, before Zelina excused herself for a bathroom break. As she approached the locker room door, it opened and Ronda walked in. "Oh, hi, Ronda," Zelina said pleasantly. "How are you?"

"I'm good," Ronda smiled. "How about you? How's your back?"

"Pretty much healed up," she replied, exaggerating a little. "How's your stomach?" Zelina still felt bad for accidentally hammering Ronda with a baseball bat during the empty arena match.

"It's getting there," Ronda said. "Ready for Sonya to come after me tonight with that baton. I love her new character, she's fucking beastly."

"Yeah, and you're the Rondanator," Zelina giggled.

"Apparently I am," Ronda chuckled. "Let's see them put that on a shirt." With that, Ronda headed into the locker room and Zelina left to go find the bathrooms.

A few minutes later, she had finished drying her hands and was ready to head back to the locker room. As she turned to leave, Sasha Banks walked in.

"Oh, it's you," Banks said with an absence of warmth, looking Zelina up and down with in a slightly derogatory way.

Something people seemed to forget about Zelina, since she was such a nice, polite person most of the time, was that she was a Latina, and she was from New York. Neither of those things leant themselves to having a long fuse. When the right buttons were pushed, Zelina's could be very short indeed. The look Sasha had just given her had pushed all of the right buttons. "We got a problem here, Sasha?" she asked, the New York coming out strongly in her accent.

"No problem," Sasha shrugged. "No surprises, either."

"Meaning?" Zelina said, already knowing where this was heading.

"Guess I should have figured you for one of those girls. You're with Almas for five minutes and he's the NXT Champion. Then he gets injured, and you jump straight into bed with Seth." Sasha laughed. "See what I did there?"

"Alright, let's get one thing clear," Zelina said angrily, pointing her finger in Sasha's face.

"Oh, I'm not done," Sasha interrupted. "We're only at the start of the story. You manage Seth for a few weeks, then all of a sudden it's The Vega Cartel. You've got a tour bus. You've got a stable of four people, and fuck me they're all champions before you can click your fingers. But there's more! As if having a stable wasn't enough, all of a sudden, Zelina Vega's a wrestler! And she's out there beating Ronda Rousey! Come on, we all know how you got all this."

"You want to be careful, bitch," Zelina threatened. In most other circumstances, she would have thrown a fist already, but why let Banks potentially cost her the push she was getting, or maybe even her job?

"Might as well admit it," Sasha persisted. "Seth's one of Hunter's guys, we all know that. Hunter's making more and more decisions around here lately, and you just happen to be being pushed to the moon. You suck in the ring, so you're fucking your way to the top."

"Oh, I suck in the ring?" Zelina laughed. "Coming from you, that's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. Let's have a run-down of the people you've hurt, shall we?" She counted them off on her fingers. "Alexa. Emma. You fucking retired Paige, and that's just off the top of my head. You nearly broke your own neck, too. Shame you didn't fucking succeed."

"Oh, it's a shame, is it?" Banks asked heatedly, squaring up to Zelina.

Seething, Zelina showed absolutely no sign of backing down. Fire burned in her eyes. "Touch me, Sasha, I'll knock you the fuck out." To her satisfaction, she saw Sasha's expression change slightly. She rightly believed the threat, and it worried her.

In an attempt to save face, Sasha grunted derisively as she backed away. "I wouldn't want to touch you; don't know where you've been."

Now that she was fired up, Zelina was in full flow. It had been a long time since she had been in a real fight. If they hadn't been in a WWE arena, she would have been only too happy to get into one right there and then. She stepped closer to Sasha. "I'll tell you where I will be: Anywhere you want, outside of work. Any time, any place. We'll see who walks away."

Without waiting for a response, Zelina stormed out into the hallway. "Fucking bitch," she said to herself. She had already thought that if anyone was going to give her grief about dating Seth, Banks was high on the list. Everyone knew she had a serious attitude problem. "Picked the wrong person to give it to today, didn't you?"

Zelina realised that she had just shown another side of herself that hadn't come out since she had signed for WWE. Having been the one to back down, Banks was unlikely to go talking to others about what had happened. But if she did, so be it. There was no harm in people knowing that Zelina Vega would come out fighting to defend herself if someone got aggressive with her.

Shaking her head, she realised that despite not being on the show, she had reached a milestone in her WWE career at Extreme Rules, albeit a negative one this time. She had made her first enemy in the company.

* * *

_WWE Extreme Rules – July 15th 2018_

Going into Extreme Rules, there had been a real feeling among the fans that with Zelina Vega having been taken out by Ronda Rousey, The Vega Cartel might be in for a bad night.

Earlier in the show, Samoa Joe and Bobby Roode had managed to scrape a win, but it wasn't looking likely that Bayley would manage to do the same. Knowing that this was her last chance to get the Smackdown Women's Championship back, Carmella had been beating the hell out of her for most of their extreme rules match.

Smackdown's commissioner, Bad News Barrett had been quite clear on the fact that he had made the extreme rules match for a reason. Bayley had retained her title against Carmella on numerous occasions thanks to decisions like count outs or disqualifications. This time, there would be none of that. "If you want to keep that title, you're going to have to beat Carmella," was the phrase he had used on the go home episode of Smackdown.

"Bayley and Carmella out here by our commentary table now," Renee said when the action spilled out of the ring once more.

"Carmella still with the upper hand, slamming Bayley face first into our table." Coach called. "She's dominated this match, but she hasn't been able to put it to bed."

"That's exactly what she's looking to do right now," Renee said as Carmella tore the protective cover off the table and threw it away, drawing a cheer from the crowd.

"Bayley, fight back!" Graves implored her. There was little chance of that; the champion was lying face down on the floor, motionless.

After removing the monitors from the table, Carmella rectified that, dragging Bayley up and lifting her on to the table. The noise in the crowd rose when Carmella climbed up on the table also. A big spot was coming.

"Bayley, please!" Graves begged as the commentators backed away from the impending destruction.

Crouching down, Carmella picked Bayley up so that they were both standing on the table. It appeared that she was intending a Mella Buster, but before she could attempt it, Bayley found life from somewhere and grabbed her former best friend in a hug that definitely had no positive connotations.

"Oh, wait!" was all Coach had time to shout before Bayley executed a Bayley-to-Belly suplex, driving both Carmella and herself through the table, which exploded with the impact. The two competitors both ended up lying on their backs, side by side.

"Look at the destruction!" Renee cried. "Bayley and Carmella went through the table hard, and they're both down."

The referee began his count, giving them until ten to make it to their feet.

"Come on, Bayley, cover her!" Graves said frantically, sounding like he might go and help her do exactly that.

"Neither woman is moving, and the referee is at four," Coach said a moment later.

Because the fans insisted on shouting ten every time, Renee took it upon herself to give the correct count for the viewers.

"Five."

"Six."

"That's seven, and neither of them are moving. What happens if they can't make it to their feet?"

"Eight," Coach said. "Carmella is stirring."

"So is Bayley," Graves said.

"Nine!" Renee called.

Carmella collapsed again. Bayley made it to all fours, but that wasn't good enough.

"Ten! That's it!" Renee said.

The referee walked over to the ring announcer's position, signalling for the bell.

"Bayley survives!" Graves yelled, delighted.

Booing loudly, the fans couldn't believe that she had escaped with her championship after a non-victory yet again.

Having gotten the referee's decision, Greg Hamilton made his announcement. "Ladies and gentleman, this match is a draw! Therefore, still the Smackdown Women's Champion, Bayley!" More boos rained down.

"How heart-breaking for Carmella," Renee said bitterly. "I really thought she was going to get the win tonight, yet now her final chance is gone."

Bayley had now made it back to her feet. The referee approached her with her title belt, which she snatched from him.

"Bayley strikes lucky yet again," Coach said as she raised the belt in the air, rubbing it in the faces of those who were booing her.

"Bayley, I'm afraid I've got some bad news!" It was Barrett's voice. Greeted by a loud ovation, the commissioner walked onto the stage.

"What bad news?" Graves demanded as Bayley was shown looking deeply concerned, especially with no Zelina to defer to. "Don't tell me he's going to restart the match?"

"Bayley, let me remind you of what I told you this past Tuesday on Smackdown," Barrett said. "I said if you wanted to keep the Smackdown Women's Championship, you would have to beat Carmella. You didn't do that," he said, wagging a finger in admonishment.

"Where's this going?" Graves demanded.

"It is true that Carmella didn't defeat you either," Barrett admitted. "So, as far as I'm concerned, neither one of you deserve to be the champion. Effective immediately, the Smackdown Women's Championship is vacated!"

"What?" Graves shrieked, outraged.

"Look at Bayley's face!" Coach said over the top of a loud "Yes!" chant. "She looks like she's about to have a fit. What a shame. No more lame title 'defences' for her; Barrett just vacated the title."

"I hope Zelina Vega is watching at home," Renee said. "How about that, Vega? Your little puppet just lost her title!"

"She didn't lose it, it was taken from her by Barrett!" Graves protested.

In a stark reversal of fortunes, the referee now snatched the belt back from Bayley, who was too dumbstruck to stop him. He hurried off towards Barrett to give the belt to the boss.

"We have no Smackdown Women's Champion," Renee said. "And, as we know, thanks to the injury Charlotte Flair suffered a couple of weeks ago on Raw, we also have no Raw Women's Champion right now. What an extraordinary situation."

"Forget Raw," Graves snapped. "I hope Zelina Vega is back in time for Smackdown next week because someone needs to deal with this blatant abuse of power from Bad News Barrett."

Barrett was shown leaving the stage with the title, while Bayley slowly walked around the ring towards the entrance ramp, looking bewildered more than angry.

To close the segment, Renee said, "I couldn't care less if Vega shows up or not. Actually, leave her wherever she is right now. But I am looking forward to seeing what commissioner Barrett is going to do with the title."

"Bayley's title!" Graves managed to get in just before a commercial started to run.


	46. Chapter 46

With no Smackdown live event the night after Extreme Rules, the cartel crew had booked themselves into a hotel for the night instead of spending it on the bus. Seth had promised Zelina that he would order them a nice room service meal while they cosied up in bed to watch Raw. Although she had reacted appreciatively to the offer, he could tell that something was wrong. Whatever it was had been lingering all day, yet on each occasion when he had asked what was up, she had insisted that nothing was. After a full day of it, Seth had had enough, and decided to tackle the subject before their meal arrived or Raw started.

"Okay, I need you to tell me what's wrong," he said, trying his best not to sound irritated, and not really succeeding.

"Nothing. I keep telling you," she replied, almost snapping at him.

"I know that's what you keep telling me. But I know you. I know when you're mad about something. You don't conceal it anything like as well as you think you do. So, whatever I've done, just tell me. We need to be able to talk about stuff, Zelina."

"It's not you," Zelina sighed. "You've not done anything wrong."

"So what is it then? Did someone say something to you last night, about us? If so, you should have told me straight away."

"I didn't want to talk about it," she said grumpily, keeping her eyes on the TV.

"So someone did say something," Seth read between the lines. "Who was it?"

"Fucking Banks," Zelina spat, her temper flaring at the memory. "She was lucky I didn't knock her the fuck out."

"Woah," Seth said, taken aback. He hadn't heard her speak with that kind of aggression before. "What did she say to you?"

"I'm sure you can imagine," she said heatedly, still not looking at him. "That I'm sleeping my way to the top by getting with you. She said I suck in the ring, so I'm going about it a different way. Fucking bitch. I told her it was rich being told I can't wrestle by her when she injures everyone she gets in a ring with. She squared up to me, and I was so close to splattering her nose all over her face."

"Okay, don't let her get you that worked up," Seth said cautiously, still surprised by the new aggressive side of her that he was seeing for the first time. "You can't hit someone at work."

"I know, that's why I didn't. But if she had spoken to me like that anywhere else I'd have banged her out. She wouldn't be the first bitch I've dropped."

"Really?" he asked, raising his eyebrows. Part of him just had to be intrigued.

Zelina sighed, realising that she was getting worked up in front of her man, and not presenting an attractive image of herself. "In the neighbourhood I grew up in, you learned to defend yourself if you had to. I got into fights with other girls a few times. One time, some bitch accused me of sleeping with her boyfriend, which I didn't by the way. The guy was a slime ball. Anyway, she slapped me, so I smacked her in the face. She dropped like a stone. Banks is lucky she didn't go the same way last night."

"I'm glad you just about kept your cool, muñeca. You would only get yourself in trouble if you hit her."

"Yeah, I know. But she read me correctly and realised I was seriously close to swinging for her. She soon backed off. I should have known if anyone was going to come with an attitude, it would be her."

"It's not the first time I've heard of people having problems with Sasha," Seth agreed. "My advice is don't have any more to do with her than you have to, and if she says anything to try and bait you, just ignore her. Hopefully you sent the message clearly enough that she ought to stay out of your face."

"Oh, yeah, she won't be stepping up to me again," she assured him. "But I'm not looking forward to having to wrestle her, if that happens. I know she shoots on people. She broke Alexa's nose when they were in NXT, I remember reading about it."

"There's not much I can say to that. If she does anything inappropriate, go to Hunter with it."

Zelina didn't comment on that. She left a pause before saying, "I'm sorry I've been moody all day. I really didn't want to get worked up over this in front of you, but I just couldn't get it out of my head."

"No, I want you to tell me things like that. We need to be able to talk about stuff; even negative stuff. Actually, especially negative stuff. Please don't keep things from me again."

Zelina turned to look at him for the first time since they had started on the subject. Her expression had softened. "You're right, baby. I'm sorry. Thank you for caring about me so much. It just really pissed me off, the things she said about me. I've busted my ass for years to get where I am. I wouldn't dream of asking for any preferential treatment from Hunter, and I'm sure I wouldn't get it even if I did."

"I know how hard you've worked. You're achieving everything you're achieving on merit, no matter what anyone says or thinks. And you're right, Hunter wouldn't give you preferential treatment. If you tried to go down that road, I'm sure it would do you more harm than good."

"Exactly. Remember when you asked if we could have time off to go play in the World Series of Poker? He said no, pretty much point blank, yet we didn't cry about it. But the worst thing was Banks trying to stand there judging what our relationship is or isn't. Shit, it makes me so mad."

"What matters is that we know what it is," Seth said tenderly, trying to stop her getting fired up again.

It worked. Zelina smiled warmly. "Yeah, we do. I love you, baby."

"I love you too, muñeca." He leaned in and they exchanged a passionate kiss, Zelina moaning quietly into his mouth.

Mid-kiss, someone knocked loudly on the door to their room. "Room service!"

"I'm not sure if that's excellent timing or terrible timing," Seth said, noticing that the commercial break before the start of Raw was now underway. He made his way out from under the bed cover. Knowing that he was going to have to answer the door, he hadn't gotten undressed.

"Don't worry about the timing," Zelina said in a sultry tone. "We can eat and watch Raw, then there will be plenty of time for sex afterwards."

"Sounds like my idea of a good night," he said on his way across the room to the door.

By the time he had taken delivery of the food, sorted out both of their meal trays and climbed back into bed, Raw was on air. He had missed most of the video recap segment for the events of Extreme Rules that were relevant to Raw, not that he needed to see it of course.

The break in conversation while Seth had sorted the food out had given Zelina some time to calm down. "This is nice," she said after trying the first mouthful of her meal. "Thanks, baby."

"You're welcome. A man has to treat his girl from time to time." With that, Seth retreated into attacking his own food. He was never particularly talkative while eating.

On the TV, Raw commissioner Shane McMahon opened the show by coming to the ring. As he made his entrance, the commentary team were talking about the fact that both Raw and Smackdown found themselves without a women's champion following Charlotte Flair's injury and the Smackdown championship being vacated by Bad News Barrett at Extreme Rules.

"Rumours have been flying around all day that there is going to be a huge announcement regarding this situation," Michael Cole said on commentary.

"I have no clue where they're going with this," Zelina said while loading up her fork. "I was shocked that they had Bayley's title vacated."

"Only one thing makes sense," Seth mumbled, talking with his mouth full. "They're going to unify the belts."

"Wait, you think?" she asked, turning to look at him, eyes widening in surprise.

"Why else would they take Bayley's belt off her like that?" Seth didn't elaborate any more, preferring to get on with eating.

"Maybe you're right," she said thoughtfully. "It's cool that we sometimes still get surprised as much as the fans do."

On the screen, Shane was in the ring and ready to speak. He went through the usual preamble of welcoming the audience to Raw, then hyping up what a great show Extreme Rules had been. He then moved on to describing what had happened at the end of the Smackdown Women's Championship match.

"Damn, Seth, I think you're right," Zelina said. "Why would he be talking about Bayley – Carmella otherwise?"

"Mmm hmm," Seth said in agreement, mouth full again.

Shane was saying, "Ordinarily, I obviously wouldn't be out here talking to you about a Smackdown championship match. But this does have relevance to Raw, as I'm about to explain. Last night, after the show, I had the chance to sit down with Bad News Barrett, Smackdown's commissioner, and we talked about the fact that we both find ourselves currently without a champion. It proved to be an interesting conversation to say the least, and I think you're going to like the outcome."

"They really are doing it," Zelina said, her food sitting forgotten about in front of her.

"What Bad News Barrett and I agreed was that this is a perfect opportunity to let the women of WWE take their next step forward. I can inform you now that no new Raw women's champion will be crowned. No new Smackdown women's champion will be crowned. At Summerslam, there will be an eight woman championship scramble match featuring four women from Raw and four from Smackdown. The winner of that match will be crowned the winner of the brand new WWE Women's Championship."

"Holy shit," Zelina breathed while the Raw crowd popped for the huge announcement. "An eight woman scramble match at Summerslam, Seth. I have goosebumps right now. I'd give anything to be involved in that. And what a shame for Charlotte and Asuka, having to miss it with their injuries."

Seth looked at her and smiled. "Hopefully you will be in it. We'll probably find out either way tomorrow night. I like the idea of having a WWE Women's Champion again. I never understood why they created two women's divisions to start with, if I'm honest."

They listened to Shane explaining that once Summerslam was over and the new champion was crowned, they would compete on their original brand, but women from the other brand would be eligible to challenge her. He also announced that there would be one qualifying match each week over the next four weeks to determine the four Raw women who would get a spot in the match at Summerslam.

After the segment was over, Zelina resumed eating her meal before it went cold. "I bet there will be qualifying matches on Smackdown, too," she said.

"I'd imagine," Seth agreed, already more than halfway done with his food. He was a fast eater. "I assume Bayley and Carmella will get two of the spots. The other two could be anyone's guess."

"I can't wait for tomorrow night now," Zelina said excitedly five minutes later, after Shane's promo was over. Seth was just putting his meal tray down on the floor.

"Oh, really?" he said in a suggestive tone, turning back to face her. "I think I can make tonight enjoyable enough for you."

Zelina licked her lips, teasing him. "Easy, tiger. I've got to finish eating."

"Then I can do some more eating."

"Seth!" she exclaimed, surprised by his forthrightness.

"Well, if you don't want me too," he said, feigning indifference.

"I didn't say that."

* * *

_Tuesday Night Smackdown – July 17th 2018_

The episode began with Bad News Barrett already in the ring. Greg Hamilton opened by announcing him.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the commissioner of Tuesday Night Smackdown, Bad News Barrett!"

After a cheer, it was Barrett's turn to speak. "Ladies and gentlemen," he said theatrically, the first part of his familiar catchphrase. The fans joined in with the rest of it. "I'm afraid I've got some bad news!"

"So have I," Graves said angrily. "The man in the ring is a thief. He stole Bayley's championship and gave it away."

"The bad news is that Zelina Vega is back tonight," Barrett said, the mention of her name drawing loud boos.

"That is bad news," Renee agreed.

"Now, I'm sure Vega is going to come out here and start shouting like she usually does. But before that..."

The music for The Vega Cartel cut him off. The intro was quickly drowned out by boos, as usual.

"Here we go right away," Coach said as Vega stormed out onto the stage, with Bayley and Sonya Deville following behind her. "Look at Vega's face! She's furious!"

"Of course she is!" Graves exclaimed. "While she was at home recuperating from injuries sustained in an open arena match that she never should have been in, Bad News Barrett stole one of her cartel's prize possessions! Bayley did not lose the Smackdown Women's Championship! Look at Bayley's face, she rightfully angry too."

Sonya, on the other hand, displayed virtually no emotion. She was simply there to collect a pay cheque as Vega's bodyguard, and she had her police baton in hand to deal with anyone who might get out of line.

"That's certainly the way Vega's looking at it," Renee said as the cartel boss marched up the ring steps.

"I don't know if I've ever seen Zelina this angry," Coach said. "Maybe the night Barrett was named commissioner, but apart from that..."

Vega snatched a microphone and started right in on the commissioner. "Who the hell do you think you are, Barrett?" she yelled at him. "At Extreme Rules, you stole from me like a thief in the night! You stole my property! You took my gold!"

"The ego of that woman is off the charts," Renee said in disbelief. " _Her_  gold? As I remember it, Bayley was the champion."

"What belongs to the cartel belongs to Zelina," Graves said.

To everyone's surprise, especially Zelina's, Bayley grabbed the microphone from her. The crowd gave a loud, "Oooh!" at the breaking of the chain of command.

Zelina looked at her as if she had just been slapped in the face, while Sonya took a step forward and got her baton ready in case she had to use it. But Bayley's gaze was locked on Barrett. "You stripped me of a title I didn't lose, Barrett. I want it back. I want it back now!"

Vega snatched the microphone back and squared up to her underling as she delivered an ice cold warning. "Disrespect me like that again, I'll end you." The thick New York in the accent acted as a further warning, for those who were aware of that character trait.

The fans began cheering, trying to encourage Bayley to kick Zelina's ass.

"Is The Vega Cartel imploding right before our eyes?" Renee asked hopefully.

"No!" Graves insisted. "Zelina will get this under control."

"I can give you the ring, if you need a minute?" Barrett suggested sarcastically. "Or maybe put you in a match against each other?"

The crowd cheered that prospect, but Bayley had other ideas. She politely asked for the microphone, and Zelina handed it over, still giving her a death glare.

"I'm sorry, boss," Bayley grovelled, to boos and groans of disappointment. "I didn't mean to disrespect you. I just want my title back."

Zelina snatched the microphone back and heatedly said, "What do you think I'm out here trying to do?"

Holding her hands up, Bayley made a further humble apology as Sonya assumed a more relaxed posture. When Zelina rounded on Barrett again, he spoke before she could.

"Before you start ranting again, I suggest you hear me out, as you should have done before you came out here interrupting."

Looking a very long way from happy about it, Zelina kept her mouth shut, glowering at him.

"First of all, even if I wanted to, I couldn't return the Smackdown Women's Championship to Bayley, because it no longer exists. It was retired Sunday night, as was the Raw Women's Championship. As Shane McMahon explained on Raw, there will be an eight woman championship scramble match at Summerslam, with four women from Raw and four from Smackdown competing to become the first ever winner of the new WWE Women's Championship."

"That's not good enough!" Zelina screamed at him.

"You're not listening again," Barrett said, shaking his head. "You've got two ears and one mouth. Start using them in that ratio."

Some of the fans laughed, further annoying Vega. "Fine," she snapped. "Say what you want to say."

"Good of you," Barrett quipped. "Now, after talking to Shane McMahon following Extreme Rules, I also talked to Paige, Smackdown's general manager. I have to be clear that I don't expect her to always agree with my decisions, and she didn't agree with my decision to vacate Bayley's title. Paige thought I was too harsh."

"Someone has a brain," Graves said, while a number of fans booed. They wanted no mercy shown to Vega, or anyone associated with her.

"So, what we decided, in the interest of fairness to The Vega Cartel, is that we will give Bayley a bye in the qualifying matches. Bayley is Smackdown's first entrant into the championship scramble." He looked at Bayley and addressed her directly. "Like I said to you before Extreme Rules, Bayley, if you want to be the champion, you're going to have to win, and earn it."

Zelina raised her microphone to speak, but Barrett held up a finger to silence her. "I'm still not done, Vega. With Bayley getting a bye, that leaves three qualifying matches for Smackdown. The first of those will be tonight, when you, Zelina, take on Becky Lynch."

That announcement was booed loudly. For the first time, Zelina looked pleased about something she had heard.

"Zelina could be in the championship scramble?" Graves asked, delighted. "Yes! That really needs to happen."

"No, it really doesn't," Renee countered.

"Guys," Coach admonished them, telling them to shut up and listen.

"And next week," Barrett went on, "Sonya Deville will also have a chance to qualify when she meets none other than Rowdy Ronda Rousey!"

The crowd popped big time for Ronda's name, which made Zelina feel good, knowing that she had done a good job of putting her over in the empty arena match.

"Ronda Rousey is going to wrestle for the first time on Tuesday Night Smackdown next week!" Renee cried. "And she faces Sonya Deville, the woman she beat at Extreme Rules, just a week after beating Vega in the empty arena match."

"It'll be different this time," Graves promised.

Seeing that Barrett was finally done, Zelina raised her microphone. "All I've got to say to you, Barrett, is that after Summerslam is over, one way or another, the WWE Women's Championship will belong to The Vega Cartel, and therefore to me." She paused to wait out some boos, then acted as if she had forgotten something. "Oh, before I go..."

"What?" Barrett asked.

Zelina reached up and slapped him hard across the face, riling the fans up again. Before Barrett could react, all three women quickly bailed from the ring.

"That was brilliant," Graves laughed. "I'm afraid I've got some bad news for you, Barrett. You just got the taste slapped out of your mouth by Zelina Vega."

"Vega wants to worry about getting slapped herself," Renee said while the women were shown heading up the entrance ramp.

"Right," Coach agreed. "Zelina meets Becky Lynch later tonight, and the winner is going to Summerslam to compete in the championship scramble."

* * *

To the immense enjoyment of the crowd, Becky Lynch had dominated the match against Zelina Vega right from the off. Every move the Irishwoman had hit had been enthusiastically cheered.

"Straight fire from Becky Lynch!" Coach exclaimed. "She's really on a roll here. Vega has been taught a wrestling lesson so far in this one."

"Lynch signalling that it's over," Renee called. "And here it comes, the Disarmer!"

The fans roared Becky on as she locked in her finishing move, but the cheers quickly changed to boos. Bayley was shown running down the entrance ramp.

"Wait a minute! What's she doing out here?" Renee demanded.

Bayley jumped up on the ring apron, distracting Becky and making her release the Disarmer before Zelina tapped. It wouldn't have mattered if the tap out had occurred, since the referee was also distracted by Bayley. He rushed over to her, trying to make her get off the apron.

"Thank God for Bayley," Graves said with obvious relief.

"Becky Lynch had this match won," Coach said. "Wait! Sonya Deville is out here in front of us now!"

Vega's head of security had come through the crowd. She climbed up on the apron and threw her police baton to Zelina, who caught it one handed. Becky turned around just too late to see what had gone on, and took a stiff baton shot to the stomach.

"Come on!" Renee objected strongly.

As Becky doubled over in pain, Zelina hammered her on the back with the baton. With that done, she threw it back to Sonya, who caught it and climbed back down off the ring apron. Seeing that the distraction had served its purpose, Bayley also retreated, allowing the referee to get back to calling the action. When he turned around, he saw Becky down on the mat and Zelina making a cover. The fans booed while the count was made.

One.

Two.

Three.

"Damn it!" Renee exploded. "Vega wins, thanks to Bayley and Sonya Deville."

"Zelina's going to Summerslam!" Graves squealed excitedly. "We have two entrants from Smackdown so far, and they're both from The Vega Cartel!"

As soon as the match had ended, Bayley and Sonya had virtually dragged Zelina out of the ring to safety. They escorted her up the entrance ramp, one either side of her.

"There they go, the three women it took to defeat Becky Lynch," Renee said with real distaste. "The cartel make me sick, but that's nothing new."

"I'll tell you what will be new," Graves said. "There will be a new WWE Women's Champion at Summerslam, and there's a two in eight chance that it'll be a member of The Vega Cartel. The odds might get even better next week, if Sonya Deville can get by Ronda Rousey in their qualifying match."

"Three cartel members in the championship scramble?" Coach said, weighing up the possibility. "That's a pretty terrifying prospect for the other women involved."

"Let's hope it doesn't happen. Two of them is bad enough," Renee said to end the segment.


	47. Chapter 47

"It's weird, I'm nervous, but at the same time, I can't wait," Bayley said, sounding like her excitement was close to bubbling over.

She was talking about the fact that she was bringing Elena backstage with her to meet everyone in the women's locker room for the first time. To date, Daga had always stayed on the tour bus during shows, but now, thanks in large part to words of confidence and inspiration from Sonya Deville, Bayley was about to come out to the rest of the locker room, and introduce her girlfriend in the process.

Walking along behind them along the hallway, Zelina couldn't stop smiling. She was so happy and proud that her two friends were taking this huge step, and she hoped that everyone would receive the news well. There was a good chance that even Sasha Banks wouldn't be a piece of shit about it, since she was actually friends with Bayley.

That wasn't all. Zelina had been buzzing all week, long before Bayley had told everyone on the bus that afternoon that she planned to come out in the locker room when they got to the arena. The reason for her excitement was that she was in the eight woman championship scramble match at Summerslam. When Hunter had given her that news prior to Smackdown the week before, she had burst into tears in front of him. That was how much it meant to her to be able to wrestle in such a huge match on WWE's second biggest pay-per-view of the year. It was yet another massive step in her career, and she was so thankful for the opportunity.

To make things even better, Bayley was also in the match. And whatever the outcome of the qualifying match that was to take place on the upcoming show, another of Zelina's friends would join them. Either Sonya or Ronda Rousey would advance to the championship scramble.

While it was true that of the two, Zelina was much closer to Sonya, she did now consider Ronda a friend. They had started to form a bond after the two well-received matches they had put on together. Frankly, it seemed obvious that Ronda would progress, but creative on Smackdown seemed to be getting less predictable of late. People had speculated that was because Hunter was doing most of the booking for the blue brand now, but no one had that confirmed as factual.

"Here we are," Bayley said when they reached the women's locker room, nerves creeping into her voice.

Zelina saw Elena take a deep breath. It was very rare to see her show nerves, but it was definitely understandable in this circumstance. "You'll be fine, guys," she encouraged them. "Everyone will be happy for you."

"Thanks, Zel," Bayley smiled.

"Let's do it," Elena said.

Bayley pushed the door open and led them into the room. She stopped just inside and Elena stood next to her. Zelina squeezed past them with her case and went over to her locker as Bayley spoke.

"Guys, can I have a moment, please?"

Everyone stopped talking as requested, most of them looking curious about the mystery woman Bayley had with her.

"I've, uh..." Bayley faltered for a second. "I have to... I'd like to introduce you all to my girlfriend. This is Elena. We've been dating for a couple of months."

Zelina had hoped that there wouldn't be an awkward silence. Happily, there wasn't. People quickly went over to Bayley and Elena to pass on their congratulations and to introduce themselves.

Watching from across the room, Zelina found herself tearing up. Bayley and Elena both looked so happy, with each other and with they were being reacted to. It was really heart-warming to see.

"I can't believe how much you look like Sonya," Carmella giggled to Elena.

"What?" Bayley exclaimed. "They don't look like each other."

"If Sonya had her hair down, I'd definitely see it," Ronda said.

Natalya shook her head. "No. I don't see it."

"Thank you," Bayley chuckled.

I can see it, Zelina thought. If I saw them as a couple of randoms in the street, I'd assume they were sisters without thinking twice about it.

"Maybe we settle it in the ring, yes?" Elena suggested to Sonya, grinning. "The loser has to get... how do you say..."

"Plastic surgery?" Bayley suggested.

"Yes!" Elena said. "The loser has to get plastic surgery."

The joke had been awkwardly delivered due to the language issue, but everyone still laughed.

Watching on, the only thing that annoyed Zelina was seeing Sasha being nice to Bayley and Elena. Not because she begrudged it to her friends, of course, but because she had been treated in totally the opposite way, despite doing nothing to deserve it.

Fuck Sasha, she thought, determined not to dwell on it. There would likely be another confrontation between them, but it wasn't going to happen now; this was Bayley and Elena's moment.

Eventually, the women began to drift back to their lockers to continue getting ready for the show. Bayley and Elena walked over to Zelina, followed by Sonya.

"I'm so happy for you guys," Zelina smiled warmly. "I told you it would be fine."

"And so did I," Sonya said with a smile of her own.

Elena looked a little surprised by it all. "It's fun to see everyone changing together. You imagine it differently, no?"

Zelina had to remind herself that Daga was new to the wrestling business, and had only seen Smackdown episodes on TV. The realities of the business had naturally been explained to her, but this was still her first time backstage.

"This is the script for the show," Bayley told her girl, picking up Sonya's copy of the formats. "We call them formats. Each segment or match is laid out in varying degrees of detail."

"Where is your part?" Elena asked, looking over Bayley's shoulder at the document.

"I'm not wrestling tonight, sadly. But Sonya is. She's taking on Ronda to see who goes to Summerslam."

"When do you find out who's going to win?"

Bayley grinned. "When I find the right page."

Zelina wanted that information herself. Glancing at Sonya, she saw nothing but a good poker face. She moved around to peak at the document just in time for Bayley to turn to the correct page.

"You see there?" Bayley said, enjoying teaching Elena how things worked. "It says who's going to win, and how they want it to go down. Then Sonya and Ronda will get together with a road agent and flesh out the rest of the match."

"It will be interesting," Elena said. She made that statement without turning it into a question.

"It sure will," Bayley agreed.

* * *

When Smackdown went on air, the show began with the commentators announcing a few of the matches that were coming up on the show. The final one they mentioned was Rousey – Deville.

Watching on the TV in the locker room, what struck Zelina was the graphic that came up afterwards. It was for the championship scramble at Summerslam. It showed eight women, with all but three of them currently generic black silhouettes. They would be filled in as the qualifying matches were held. Right now, only Alexa Bliss, Bayley and Zelina herself were on the graphic.

Pride of place below the pictures of the eight women was given to the words 'WWE Women's Championship', but it was the words at the top of the graphic that attracted Zelina's attention. 'A Queen is Born.' She noticed as she read it that the match had been given its own piece of music; a song called A Queen is Born by Aloe Blacc.

"A Queen will indeed be born at Summerslam," Renee said just before the graphic disappeared.

"I have goosebumps right now," Zelina said to Bayley, who was sitting next to her. "I still can't believe I'm in that match. A new championship belt, and a united women's roster. It's so good."

"It's going to be something special for sure," Bayley agreed.

"But there's only one Queen," Elena said, taking Bayley's hand.

That got Zelina right in the feels. It was by far the sweetest thing she had ever seen the Italian do. It fully dawned on her in that moment that her two friends were just as happy with each other as she was with Seth.

* * *

_Tuesday Night Smackdown – July 24th 2018_

Sonya Deville and Ronda Rousey had been going at each other hard for nearly ten minutes in an attempt to qualify for the championship scramble at Summerslam. The action hadn't been fast-paced, but it had been hard-hitting.

There had been several near falls during the contest. The latest came when Sonya managed to hit a top rope superplex, after Ronda had made the rare error of going to the top rope to try a high risk move.

"I thought that was it," Graves said in disbelief. "How did Rousey kick out of that?"

"I don't know, but she's getting straight back up!" Renee called.

It was at least partially true. Ronda made it as far as her knees before Sonya swung her devastating MMA-style kick at her face. Unfortunately for Deville, Rousey was able to duck the kick, grab her standing leg and pull her down to the mat. It looked for a second as if she was going to apply some sort of submission hold on Sonya's leg, but Ronda shifted her position and applied a much more deadly hold.

"Oh, the armbar!" Coach shouted. "Ronda's trying to lock it in! If she gets the arm straightened out, Sonya's in big trouble!"

The two women writhed around on the mat, Sonya desperately trying to break free, while Ronda tried to use all of her strength to fully lock in the armbar.

"This is a real struggle to the death," Renee said. "Sonya knows she has to get…" As she was speaking, Rousey managed to get Deville's arm straightened out, hyperextending the elbow.

"She's got it locked in!" Coach called out as the fans cheered Ronda on, sensing victory.

"No! Don't tap!" Graves pleaded with Sonya, wanting another Vega ally in the match at Summerslam.

Suddenly the crowd started booing. Bayley was shown running down the entrance ramp.

"Come on! This is just like last week!" Renee objected as Bayley got up on the apron, distracting the referee, who went over to deal with her. Behind his back, Sonya started tapping out.

"Deville taps! But there's no referee!" Coach called.

The booing notably increased in animosity as Ronda broke the hold, realising that the tap out wasn't going to be called, thanks to Bayley. The reason for the aggression from the fans became apparent when Zelina was shown at ringside in front of the commentary area, having arrived through the crowd.

"Zelina Vega's out here now," Renee groaned.

"Yes! It's always great to see her," Graves said sycophantically.

Zelina grabbed Sonya's police baton from where it had been left under the turnbuckles in a corner of the ring. She got up on the apron and prepared to throw it to Sonya.

"This is exactly how Vega's match went down last week," Coach said.

Sonya and Ronda were both getting up. Zelina threw the baton to Deville, but Rousey saw what was happening out of the corner of her eye. Sticking out her left hand, she was able to make an interception and catch the baton herself, making the fans immediately erupt in delight.

"Oh no!" Graves shouted.

"Miss-step by Vega!" Coach called.

Ronda smashed the baton hard into Sonya's stomach, causing her to double over in pain. Just as Zelina had to Becky Lynch the week before, Ronda hammered Sonya on the back with the baton, then threw it out of the ring.

While that had been happening, with the fans on their feet, Becky had run down to the ringside. She yanked Bayley's legs off the apron, leaving her to slam her face on the hardest part of the ring. That wasn't enough for the Irishwoman, who started stomping on the former champion.

"This is chaotic!" Renee cried. "Becky Lynch is out here now, going after Bayley! Rousey's making a cover on Deville!"

With Bayley off the apron, the referee turned around to make the count. The fans were only too happy to join in.

"One!"

"Two!"

"Three!"

"Rousey wins!" Renee yelled. "Rowdy Ronda Rousey is going to Summerslam!"

"Zelina!" Graves yelped as Vega was shown on her knees on the floor with her hands on her head and a look of horror on her face. It was her mistake that had cost Sonya the match, and the consequence was one less person in Vega's pocket at Summerslam, and Ronda Rousey in the ring as an opponent. From her point of view, it was a disaster.

"Ronda Rousey will compete to become the first holder of the new WWE Women's Championship at Summerslam!" Coach exclaimed.

"That mistake by Zelina Vega could prove to be crucial when we get to the championship scramble," Renee said. "She tried to help Sonya Deville win by throwing that baton to her, but Rousey caught it instead and used it to her own advantage. Vega and Bayley just lost what could have been some very important backup in the match at Summerslam."

Becky and Bayley were shown fighting up the entrance ramp, then there was a shot of Ronda celebrating as she left the ring. Sonya was left in there alone, until Zelina climbed in to join her.

"Vega going over to Deville," Coach said.

As Sonya got up, Zelina was saying something to her.

"Is Zelina apologising to Sonya Deville?" Graves wondered. "If she is, that's quite surprising. It's not what I'd expect to see from the leader of The Vega Cartel."

Deville got to her feet, a look of fury on her face. It appeared that she might take Zelina's head off for costing her what would have been the biggest opportunity of her career. Holding her hands up to pacify the bigger woman, Vega did her best to explain things in an attempt to calm her down. After a moment, Sonya's expression softened slightly and she turned and left the ring, not bothering to wait for Zelina. She was clearly still pissed off, but not quite enough to get violent about it.

"I think Zelina managed to just about diffuse that situation," Graves said with relief.

Leaving the ring, Zelina looked less than pleased with how things had transpired.

"Not a good night for Zelina Vega," Renee said, beginning to wrap up the segment. "Rowdy Ronda Rousey is in the championship scramble at Summerslam, at the expense of Sonya Deville. Is there dissention in the ranks of The Vega Cartel?"


	48. Chapter 48

With a hiss from the airbrakes, Elena brought the tour bus to a stop, ready to turn into the entrance to the parking garage at the arena where Summerslam would be taking place in a matter of hours. It had been a long drive through heavy traffic. Even so, Zelina hadn't had any sleep on the journey. In fact, she had barely slept for the last two days. She was simply too excited about the fact that she was competing in the eight woman scramble match for the new WWE Women's Championship.

There had been rumours that their match might even main event the show. When Seth had told her that, she almost been reduced to tears. Now, looking out of the window next to the couch that she and Seth had made their own, she felt herself starting to get emotional again. "Bay, look," she said, pointing.

Bayley got off her couch and came over to look, while Elena continued to wait for a gap in the traffic so that she could get into the garage.

"Wow," Bayley breathed.

"Awesome," Seth added, also looking out of the window.

They were looking at the side of the arena, where an enormous banner had been fixed. It was the same graphic that WWE had been using for the scramble match over the past few weeks, featuring the words 'WWE Women's Championship' below the pictures of the eight women competing. Above the pictures of the women were the words 'A Queen is Born,' the official slogan for the match.

Zelina's eyes were focused on the images of the eight competitors. It made her spine tingle to think that in a matter of hours, she would be in the ring with those seven amazing ladies.

Mickie James's image was on the far left. Next to her was Mandy Rose, followed by Alexa Bliss and Nia Jax. That made up Raw's half of the entrants. Next to Nia was Ronda Rousey. Then came Carmella, Bayley and finally Zelina.

"It looks stunning," Zelina breathed, not caring in the least that she didn't have pride of place in the centre of the graphic.

"Come on, for fuck's sake!" Elena raged at the cars that were streaming past in the opposite direction, not allowing her to turn.

"Daga, why is it you know swear words better than the rest of the English language?" Joe asked cheekily.

"Fuck off, Joe," Elena snapped, making everyone burst out laughing, especially Joe and Bobby. "Finally," she added when a gap in the traffic presented itself.

"And here we are," Zelina said as the bus swung around into the entrance to the parking garage. She felt such a mixture of emotions in the pit of her stomach. Nervousness was one of those emotions. Even though she'd had two big matches with Ronda, this was a huge step up again. WWE had made such a massive deal of the scramble match, which brought pressure to the competitors.

A couple of minutes later, Elena had safely parked the bus in a back corner of the garage. "There we are, guys," she said as the door hissed open. She stood up to go open the luggage compartment for them, stretching her arms after the long drive.

"Thanks, Daga," Bobby said. "Somehow got here accident free again."

"You're just trying to make me insult you in Italian," she said on her way down the steps, denying him the satisfaction.

"I'm so nervous," Zelina said to Seth. "But I'm also so hyped. I've never had a feeling like this. I can't really describe it. I'm very emotional."

"I know, muñeca. But you're going to kill it out there tonight. I don't doubt that for a second."

Bayley politely gestured for them to leave the bus ahead of her. She followed them, with Bobby and Joe bringing up the rear.

Shortly, everyone had their cases, and were ready to enter the arena.

"Okay, good luck, everyone," Elena said. She had special words for Bayley, along with a hug. "Bring the belt back for me, pulcina."

"I'd love to," Bayley said before giving her a peck on the lips.

Everyone said their goodbyes to Elena, then headed for the arena entrance. Seth and Zelina were in the lead, with Bayley just behind them. "I can't wait to hear what they have planned," she said.

"Neither can I," Zelina said. "I'm going to die if we're the main event."

Seth chuckled. "Don't do that. You won't be in it if you do."

"That's a good point," Bayley said, feigning seriousness. "Zel, you found yourself a guy with a brain."

"Where?" she asked, giggling.

"Now that's just mean," Seth said, laughing.

They reached the entrance to the building. A crew member was standing just inside. He approached the group. "Bayley? Zelina? Mr Helmsley would like to see you right away. He's called a meeting for everyone in the women's scramble match. You guys are the last to arrive. Can you follow me, please?"

"Sure," Bayley said pleasantly.

Checking the time on her phone, Zelina was glad of the reminder that they had indeed made the call time. At least they couldn't get in trouble for being late, even if the boss was waiting for them.

They walked down a hallway. At the end, they needed to go in the opposite direction to the locker rooms.

"I'll take your case and have one of the girls put it in the locker room for you," Seth said to Zelina.

"Thank you, baby," she smiled, giving him a kiss. Their relationship being public knowledge was a blessing sometimes.

"Bobby, can you please take my case to the locker room for me?" Bayley asked as he and Joe caught up to them.

"No problem."

"Thank you," she said sweetly.

"We'd better go," Zelina said, to Seth more than anyone else. "See you later."

"You will," he smiled.

With that, Bayley and Zelina resumed following the crew member, who led them down the hallway, then stopped in front of a door. "You're in here, guys."

"Thanks," Zelina said before opening the door. Walking in, she found herself in an empty room that was probably usually used as an office. It wasn't big enough for much else. Eight chairs were arranged in a semi-circle, one for each competitor in the scramble match. Six of them were occupied. Hunter was sitting opposite them.

"Come in, guys. Have a seat," he said in a welcoming manner.

There had been some chit chat going on when Zelina had opened the door, but their arrival stopped it. Greetings were exchanged all round, but everyone knew it was now time to get down to business. Taking her seat, Zelina could sense nerves from the others. At least she wasn't the only one.

"Okay," Hunter said to call the meeting to order once Bayley and Zelina were settled in. "Needless to say, we're here to talk about the scramble match for the Women's Championship. I want to start by saying that all eight of you have done amazingly well this year, and you have every right to feel proud of yourselves for the fact that you're sitting here right now."

Taking in a deep breath, Zelina told herself not to start getting tearful already. The others might think she was an idiot. But she couldn't help how much the wrestling business meant to her, or how humbled she was to be in the situation in which she found herself.

"As you all know, we've had a series of 'firsts' for women's wrestling this year. Tonight, you're going to be involved in another. We're going to see women main event Summerslam for the first time."

"Oh my God," Zelina gasped, covering her face with her hands. Tears were flowing before she could even think about trying to stop them. As she felt Bayley's arm go around her shoulders, she heard someone else sniff loudly. At a minimum, one of the other girls was crying.

"Thank you, Hunter," Nia said. "This means so much to me. I'm sure I speak for everyone when I say that."

Zelina forced herself to take her hands away from her face and join the others in echoing Nia's sentiments.

"Here," Bayley said gently, offering Zelina a tissue that she had produced from somewhere.

"Thank you," she mumbled, starting to wipe her eyes.

Hunter gave those who were struggling a moment to sort themselves out. Zelina saw that Alexa was very emotional, and surprisingly, Ronda was wiping a tear from her cheek.

"Everyone okay?" the boss asked eventually. Positive responses came his way. "Good. Now, there will be angles coming out of this match for multiple rivalries. When you get to the locker room, you'll find that each of you have special formats containing the information relevant to you. See them for details on the critical spots you've all been given. TJ will be your agent, so obviously talk to him about any issues or suggestions you might have."

Hunter paused for a moment, looking around at them all. "That just leaves me one more thing to do: Tell you who will be getting the win tonight; who will be the first holder of the new Women's Championship. The new belt will be at ringside to be given to the winner, by the way."

Zelina didn't realise that she was holding her breath as Hunter cruelly made them wait for it. She glanced at Bayley, hoping that her closest friend in the match would get the nod. She deserved it, after having her Smackdown Women's Championship run cut off for this angle.

Turning back to face the boss, Zelina saw him looking around the group, who were all on tenterhooks. His eyes lingered on her.

"Zelina, congratulations, it's you."

For a moment, the news simply didn't register in her brain. She sat there looking blankly at him. It was only when Bayley said, "Oh, Zel, congratulations," and hugged her that it really hit her, and she burst into tears. She had shed tears over the Summerslam match already, but now she was full-on crying.

"Hey, hey, hey," Bayley said, trying to comfort her as she took her into a proper embrace.

Part of Zelina knew she was embarrassing herself in front of her colleagues, but she couldn't stop crying. So many years of dreaming, of working her ass off, of thinking she might never even get the chance to sign for WWE, yet here she was, about to become the women's champion. "Oh, God," she choked into Bayley's chest.

Zelina suddenly realised that no one else had said anything. She had the horrifying image of them all looking at her like, 'Is this bitch for real?'

Gasping in a few breaths, she wriggled out of Bayley's embrace. Looking down at the floor, she used the tissue she was holding to wipe her eyes. "I'm sorry," she managed to say, feeling like she had a lump in her throat.

Only then did she risk looking up. Far from glaring at her, most of the other women were either crying, or at least had teary eyes. She realised that seeing what it meant to her also meant something to them. It was a moment she knew she would never forget. Apparently there would be a number of those from this particular night.

"Okay," Hunter said, sounding a little off his own game. "I just wanted to give you all those pieces of news in person. Unless anyone has any questions, I'll let you go."

Carmella spoke up. "I had one question, or, I should say, an idea."

Hunter made a hand gesture to indicate that the floor was hers. Zelina listened while continuing to wipe tears from her eyes with the tissue.

"I wondered if we could get a picture of the eight of us down by the ring? Not for WWE to put on Instagram or anything; I mean for us. I know I'd like something to remember tonight by in the future."

"That's a lovely idea," Mickie said, to general agreement from the other women. Zelina added her own voice to the chorus.

Hunter nodded. "I'll make that happen for you. It is a nice idea. I'll go you one better. We'll make a commemorative plaque out of it for you. As you said, not for WWE to sell; just for you guys."

"Thank you, Hunter. You're really so good to us," Carmella said emotionally. "Ever since the women's revolution started, you've always been there for us, backing us."

"Yeah, thank you, Hunter," Mandy said, starting to applaud the boss as she spoke. The applause caught on right away, everyone joining in.

Hunter looked down for a moment and pinched the bridge of his nose. "You'll start me off next," he said, managing a short laugh.

"We just want you to know we appreciate what you do for us," Alexa said after the clapping died down.

"Thanks, guys, seriously," Hunter said. He stood up with a deep sigh and said, "Right, off you go."

He was giving the distinct impression that he needed the room to himself for a moment, so everyone got up and began filing towards the door. Everyone apart from Zelina, that was. She had joined the others in getting to her feet, but she had a big problem on her mind, and she had to speak to him about it before she could leave.

"Hunter, can I, uh, have a word?" she ventured.

"Alright," he said, swallowing hard.

"Uh, I have a problem," she faltered. "I really think I might struggle to keep character when I get the win tonight. It means so much to me I can't even explain it to you. As you saw just now, I get emotional about things like this. I can't help it. I've always been a very emotional person. I'm really worried that I'm going to let you down out there."

Hunter smiled kindly. "I know you're an emotional person. I've seen that several times already. Don't worry about it. I want you to go out there and enjoy yourself. Whatever happens, happens, and we'll work with it. Okay?"

"Uh, okay," Zelina said slowly, extremely surprised. She had expected to be told to pull herself together and make sure she stayed in character.

"Make the most of the moment. You don't get many like this in a career. Trust me, I know." Hunter paused for a second, then said, "I was going to ask you as you were leaving to have Seth come and see me. Can you go do that now, please?"

Taking that as a dismissal from the office, Zelina thanked Hunter once more and headed for the door. Heading along the hallway towards the locker rooms, she felt sure was going to wake up any minute and find herself back on the tour bus on the way to the show, discovering that none of this had been real. But it was real. She was going to be the first holder of the new WWE Women's Championship. As unreal as it was, she couldn't wait to tell Seth about it. He would be so happy for her. Just thinking about it made her start jogging, wanting to get there that little bit faster.

Approaching the Smackdown men's locker room, Zelina saw Kevin Owens and Randy Orton standing just outside the door, having a chat. "Excuse me, guys," she said politely. "Could one of you go ask Seth to come out, please?"

"Of course," Kevin said, turning and opening the door.

* * *

Seth was laughing at a joke that Bobby had just told him when Kevin Owens walked up to him.

"Hey, man. Zelina is outside, asking for you."

"Thanks, bro," Seth said. Although they didn't usually visit each other's locker rooms during a show, he wasn't concerned. Having seen the formats, he already knew that the women's scramble match was the main event, even though his copy had possessed no information about the match itself. Hunter had been clever to drag all of the women involved straight into a meeting before they could get to see their own formats. He had obviously wanted the pleasure of telling them in person. Now, Seth imagined, Zelina had come to share her excitement at the news with him.

Following Kevin over to the door, he smiled, picturing how happy and excited his girl was going to be. His intention was to lead her a bit further up the hallway where they could talk in private, but he didn't get the chance. As soon as he walked out of the door, Zelina practically leapt into his arms.

"Seth, it's me! They're giving the belt to me!" she shrieked in delight.

"Oh my God!" he exclaimed as he lifted her off the floor in an enthusiastic hug of celebration. "I'm so pleased for you, muñeca! This is the best news ever! We're both going to be champions!"

Still in his arms, with her legs wrapped around his waist for support, Zelina pulled back slightly to look in his eyes. "You're retaining?"

"Sure am. They can call us the Sega WWE Champions, or something." He had referenced what was now their 'official' ship name, according to Twitter.

Zelina squealed in delight at that idea. "This is amazing, baby. Never in my wildest dreams did I think this could be a thing for me. We're main eventing Summerslam, and I'm going over to become Women's Champion. I really can't believe it, Seth."

"Well, believe it, because it's happening. You're going to make an amazing champion, babe. You're exactly the kind of person girls out there should inspire to be like if they want to become wrestlers one day. You're fantastic in the ring, and you're a perfect role model outside it."

"Thank you so much, that's so sweet," she said, wiping a tear from her eyes. "I feel so lame, though. I keep crying all the time. I'm an emotional mess right now. I already had to tell Hunter I don't think I'll be able to keep character out there when I get the win. I know I'm going to burst into tears. Actually, I'll probably cry like a baby. I already cried when he told me I was going over. I was sitting there crying in front of all the other girls. Actually, I started most of them off crying, too."

Seth gently set her back down on her feet. "What did Hunter say to that?"

"He told me to just enjoy myself out there. His exact words were, 'whatever happens, happens'. Then he said they'll work with it. It was pretty weird, but I'm not complaining. Oh, I nearly forgot, he sent me to get you. He's waiting to see you in the office, so you'd better go."

"Oh, okay," Seth said. "What office is he in?"

"Uh, I'd better come with you and show you," she decided, realising that she would struggle to direct him to the right place.

"How did everyone else take the news?" he asked as they began walking along the hallway.

"They all seemed happy for me. Like I said, my crying started most of them off. Carmella came up with a nice idea, too. We're going to get a picture of the eight of us down by the ring later, and Hunter's going to use it to make plaques for us. So that'll be my first piece of memorabilia. What a night to get it."

"It'll really be something to remember," Seth agreed. "You'll have to think about where you'd like me to put it for you."

"Hmmm," she said thoughtfully. "Maybe in the games room?" she suggested after a moment.

Seth liked that idea. He had his memorabilia in the lesser-used of their two living rooms. He understood that she wouldn't want to ask him to put her stuff there too. That was his place. It would be a bit obnoxious for them to put something like a plaque in the main living room where guests would sit, so her solution seemed perfect.

After she had moved in, he had converted one of the spare rooms upstairs that he had only been using for storage into a place for them to enjoy their common interest in video games. Her huge TV had been brought from her house and put in there, along with a brand new, top of the range surround sound system. There was hardly any decoration on the walls in the games room as yet, another reason why it would be the perfect place to begin her own little collection of special items.

"Yeah, good idea," he said happily. "As soon as it comes, I'll put it up for you."

"Thank you, baby," she smiled happily, before stopping outside a door. "This is where we were."

"Alright, I'd better go in. I love you, muñeca, and I'm so proud of you, and happy for you." He leaned down and they exchanged a tender kiss.

"I love you too, Seth, so much."

"See you later," he said, pulling himself away from her to enter the office where the boss was waiting. He knocked on the door as he pushed it open.

Hunter was standing in the room, waiting. He smiled when he saw Seth. "Come in, Seth. Shut the door."

Doing as he had been asked, Seth enquired, "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah," Hunter nodded. "There's something I need to talk to you about, and something I need you to do after the show goes off air tonight."

"Name it," Seth said openly.

"Before I do that, I need to tell you what the deal is with the women's scramble match."

"I know Zelina's winning it," Seth said happily. "She just told me. I'm so happy for her. It really means the absolute world to her."

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about. Have a seat." Hunter gestured to the chairs that were still arranged in a semi-circle as he took his own seat. Once Seth had sat down, Hunter continued. "As you know, Zelina has a part in the movie about Paige's life that is coming out in September. We want to be able to use them both to promote it. Obviously, with things how they are right now creatively, that wouldn't make a lot of sense. So, we're turning Zelina face, and with her, the cartel as a whole."

"Woah! She didn't mention that."

"That's because she hasn't been told yet. We found it hard to come up with a good way to turn her, since she's done such a good job of getting heat on herself. But then I came up with an idea that we think will work. She's a very emotional person. She burst into tears just now when I told her she was going to be the new champion, as I knew she would. It's not the first time I've seen it from her."

"Okay," Seth said, drawing the word out to encourage the boss to go on. He wasn't seeing the idea yet.

"What I figured was, one of the things that makes us feel sympathy or a connection for other people is seeing them experience emotional moments. I know seeing other people crying is one of the few things that sets me off."

"Yeah, me too," Seth agreed.

"So, the way I see it, if Zelina is out there balling her eyes out when she wins, it'll be impossible for a lot of people not to feel the emotion themselves. They'll realise that it's out of character, that they're seeing what she's really feeling, real emotions. Then she'll walk into the back, and that's where you come in."

"Oh?"

"I want you to be there, as I'm sure you would have been anyway. It will be another emotional moment, and I want to get it all on camera to show on the post-Summerslam show. I just wanted to do the right thing and tell you what we're going to do ahead of time."

Seth considered that for a moment. Part of him wasn't pleased with a real, genuine emotional moment between him and his girlfriend being used for creative purposes. But then, he had to agree that it was one of the few ways they might be able to get a face turn on her at this point. "Alright. When are you going to tell Zelina about this face turn? I don't like keeping stuff from her, especially not something like this."

"I'm going to sit down with her after the show. The only reason I didn't tell her in the meeting we just had was that the entire point is to get the real emotions from her. I didn't want her out there trying to put on being emotional about the win. That wouldn't work; people would see through it. We need the real deal. After the show, I'm going to tell her to get on Twitter and start liking and retweeting messages from fans who congratulate her on the win, stuff like that. I'll also tell her to put out a tweet thanking everyone for their overwhelming support. That'll seem out of character for the Zelina we've seen so far, causing people to speculate if they're seeing a face turn. Then we'll really get it going tomorrow by having Renee handle the official presentation of the new belt, where Zelina will shake hands with her and they'll put their differences aside."

Nodding slowly, Seth said, "This all makes sense to me. I hope it works, and people do connect with her for getting emotional."

"We'll have the commentators help to put that message over of course. We'll have Renee becoming more sympathetic towards Zelina, and Corey starting to distance himself. That'll also give the audience an idea of what we're going for. A lot of them are quick on the uptake with that kind of thing."

"And what about the rest of us? You said the rest of the cartel needs to turn with Zel, and that's obviously true. How are we going to pull that off?"

"By booking you as faces," Hunter said simply. "There's already an idea in place, but that's for tomorrow night. Tonight, I need you to put on a great match with Styles and Owens, then I need you there at the end of the show to help us sell the new Zelina."

"You got it," Seth agreed. When it was all said and done, none of what they had just discussed had been put to him as a question, and he realised that. Hunter was just doing the right thing by talking to him about it and explaining his reasoning. One thing neither of them had any doubt about was whether Zelina would give the emotional reaction that was being hoped for.

* * *

_WWE Summerslam – August 19th 2018_

Under the rules of a championship scramble match, the objective was for competitors to pin the current champion, in order to become the provisional champion themselves. Whoever held that honour when the allotted time for the match expired would be the winner. As there had been no champion going into the match, the rules had stated that the first provisional champion could be decided by obtaining a pinfall or submission on anyone in the match.

With thirty seconds left on the clock, Alexa Bliss was the provisional champion. Knowing that she was almost home and dry, she was desperate to avoid having to go at it with anyone. It was only her and Ronda Rousey left in the ring, so she tried to flee. Naturally, Ronda had other ideas. She was able to Alexa in a waist lock from behind when she was halfway through the ropes, and drag her back into the ring.

Before the match, Ronda had been the favourite to get the win in the opinion of most fans, since she was surprisingly yet to hold a title in WWE. The crowning of a new WWE Women's Champion seemed like the perfect occasion to have her break that duck. For that reason, the crowd erupted when she delivered a savage German suplex.

"Alexa got caught!" Michael Cole shouted on commentary. "What a German suplex that was!"

Ronda got up to go over to Alexa and try and capitalise by making a cover. Seemingly from nowhere, Zelina came flying into the shot, having jumped off the top rope.

"Missile dropkick by Vega!" Renee called, starting to lose her voice because of how much shouting she had done during the match.

The third member of the cross-brand commentary team was Booker T. "The time's running out!" he exclaimed.

With Ronda down, Zelina's attention turned to Alexa. She was the one who needed to be beaten before the clock ran down. Trying to get up after the German suplex, she had risen to all fours. It was perfect position for Zelina to take advantage of. The noise in the crowd rose slightly as she ran and hit the ropes. The fans knew what was coming; the spike hurracanrana that no one was going to kick out of.

"She got it!" Cole cried out as the move connected. "The Vega-rana! Zelina into the cover!"

The heel marks in the crowd counted along with the referee, knowing what the outcome was going to be.

"One!"

"Two!"

"Three!"

There was a small pop from those same marks, while everyone else mostly watched on in near silence.

"Vega gets three!" Cole yelled.

"Look at the time!" Renee croaked. The clock on the big screen was on five seconds. Zelina rushed from the ring, already in tears. "There's no time! Vega wins! Vega wins!"

To confirm that fact, the clock reached zero and a loud buzzer sound filled the arena. "There it is!" Booker shouted as the bell rang. By then, Zelina was at the bottom of the entrance ramp, having sunk to her knees, in floods of tears.

"Vega is the champion! Look what it means to her! Tears of joy are streaming down her face!" Renee cried, her voice almost failing her completely. Somehow, that added to the emotion of the moment. "Whether you like her or not, Zelina climbs to the top of the mountain! What a monumental achievement! She's the first holder of the new WWE Women's Championship!"

The referee had made sure to be quick to arrive with the championship belt. He handed it to her and pointed to her to indicate the winner, as if anyone didn't know by now. The new title looked very similar to the retired Raw Women's Championship, with a white strap and a red main plate. It was understandable, given the popularity that the Raw design had enjoyed. The new belt of course proclaimed the holder 'WWE Women's Champion.'

Taking the belt, Zelina hugged it tightly to her chest. Even with a camera right in her face, she found herself wailing, almost like a child whose dog had died. The difference was that she was at the opposite end of the emotional scale. So many things were running through her head in that moment: The countless hours of hard work she had put in over the years to get to this point. The memory of being released by TNA after barely being given a chance to prove herself in the company. The ordeal she had been through with David Hernandez, which she had been lucky to escape from with her life. The fact that she was now representing all of WWE's women as the division's champion. The fact that so many young girls around the world would look to her and think, 'I want to be like Zelina Vega one day'. The fact that both she and Seth were champions. And last but definitely not least, her late father, who she hoped would be watching with pride. It was all too much for her. She was completely overwhelmed with emotion.

Still balling her eyes out, she forced herself to get up, knowing that she was supposed to celebrate with the belt before the show went off air. She hadn't even noticed the fact that the cartel's music wasn't playing. The production crew had instead played A Queen is Born; a further small signal about the potential face turn. Raising the belt in her right hand, Zelina pointed to the heavens with her left. "I did it! I did it!" she shouted, her voice breaking, dedicating the win to her father.

"What an emotional moment," Cole said as Zelina turned to walk towards the stage. "You can quite clearly tell how Zelina Vega feels after her incredible, stunning victory. I have a lump in my throat."

Before heading back through the curtain, Zelina turned around to look around the arena for a final time. Some boos were coming her way, but there were also some cheers. She raised the belt in celebration again, tears still running down her cheeks. The logo signalling the end of the show appeared in the corner of the screen.

"A Queen has been born at Summerslam! Zelina Vega is the WWE Women's Champion," Renee croaked just before the fade to black.

* * *

_WWE Network Exclusive Footage_

Zelina walked through the curtain, carrying her newly-won title belt in one hand. For a moment, she was covering her eyes with her other hand in an emotional gesture. When she removed it, she saw Seth standing there waiting to greet her. That mere fact made her burst into tears again.

"Congratulations, babe," Seth said as she walked into his arms. He sounded choked up and lost for more words to use.

Zelina wrapped her arms around him, buried her face in his chest and started balling again. It was the kind of crying that only the rawest kind of emotions could produce.

"I'm so proud of you. I love you," Seth said, holding her tightly.

"I can't believe this is real," she gasped.

"Well it is real. You're the champion. You're the women's champion."

Zelina finally raised her head to look into this eyes. "I have no words," she told him, shaking her head.

Seth kissed her delicately on the lips, then released the embrace, leaving Hunter to step forward.

"Congratulations, Zelina," the boss said warmly.

Zelina hadn't been exaggerating when she had said she had no words. "Thank you," was all she could manage as she walked into his arms to exchange a brief hug.

When they parted, Zelina walked side by side with Seth through Gorilla, with everyone who worked there applauding her. She was too busy trying to wipe her eyes to acknowledge them. The cameraman didn't follow them, but kept them in the shot until they disappeared out into the hallway, walking hand in hand.


	49. Chapter 49

By the time Seth and Zelina reached the women's locker room, she had finally managed to stop herself crying. Some equipment cases had been left in the hallway, not far from the locker room door. Zelina hopped up to sit on one of them and said, "I need a minute before I go in there. I have such a headache right now, Seth. This is all too much for me. I'm the WWE Women's Champion." There was disbelief in her voice, as if she still didn't quite think it was all real.

"Yeah, you are," Seth said proudly. He sat down on the case next to hers.

Zelina sat there, shaking her head slightly. "When we got off the bus earlier, the best I hoped for was that Bayley or Ronda would win. I wanted one of my friends to get it. I didn't even consider the possibility of me winning. I thought I was there to make up the numbers and maybe get a couple of cool spots in. I really can't believe it. And the way Hunter was with me earlier, not bothered if I stayed in character. It's all so crazy."

Seth was about to say that he could shed some light on that, but he didn't get the chance. The other women who had been involved in the championship scramble began to come walking along the hallway.

Bayley was the first to arrive. She came jogging along the hallway, tears flowing down her cheeks. Zelina dropped back down off the equipment case to embrace her. As they hugged, she felt herself tearing up yet again. The fact that Bayley was so happy for her had gotten her right in the feels.

"Oh, Zel, that was such an incredible thing to watch," Bayley was saying. "I saw the whole thing on the screen. Just seeing what it meant to you, I really have no words. I'm so happy for you."

"Thanks, Bay. I have no words, either."

"I'll try and persuade Daga not to kill you, since she was all set on me getting the belt," Bayley said with a laugh.

Zelina laughed too. "Oh, God. Straight into my first defense when we get on the bus. I have a feeling Daga would work stiff, too."

They pulled apart then because the other women had started to arrive. Ronda was the next one to hug Zelina. "Congratulations, girl. I'm so pleased for you."

"Thanks, Ronda," Zelina said, squeezing her tightly. "I really thought it would be you tonight, not me."

"Don't worry about me, this is your night. Enjoy it."

"Thank you," Zelina said as they parted.

She spent a couple of minutes hugging and thanking everyone else who had shared the ring with her on her memorable night. They all had kind words to say, and Zelina felt a closer connection to each of them than she had before.

When she had hugged each of the competitors, she turned around to go back to Seth. She found him standing there with Sonya Deville, her closest friend in WWE, standing beside him.

"Oh, Sonya," she breathed, walking into the offered embrace.

"I heard you guys out here. I'm so proud of you, Zel," Sonya said, holding her tight for a moment as the other women started to make their way into the locker room. "You were amazing out there. If anyone watched that with dry eyes, I'll be damned if I know how."

Zelina chuckled. "Not what I was really supposed to do, but Hunter was fine with it, for some reason."

"Sis, haven't you figured it out? They're turning you face."

Zelina stepped back slightly, a quizzical look on her face. "What?"

"They're turning you face," Sonya repeated. "It's obvious. They had Renee putting you over on commentary. They had you out there crying your eyes out, and it was obviously all real emotion. What better way to get people on your side than that? And they just showed you and Seth in Gorilla on the post-Summerslam show. Twitter is blowing the fuck up about you right now, and most of it is positive."

Grinning, Zelina shook her head. Hunter was crafty, alright. 'Go out there and enjoy it. Whatever happens, happens.' That was what he had said to her. He had known full well what would happen; how emotional she would get. He had been bargaining on exactly that to aid her in a face turn. "Son of a bitch," she said quietly, in admiration of the way he worked more than anything else. She certainly wasn't going to be annoyed with him on the night where she had been given the women's championship.

"I didn't like having to play you, Zelina."

It was Hunter's voice, behind her. She snapped around to face him, shocked that he was there. She heard Seth laugh, but she didn't find it funny. She had just called the boss a son of a bitch. "Hunter, I didn't mean..."

"Relax," he cut in, holding a hand up to stop her. "You were surprised. I get it. Sonya analyzed it perfectly, obviously pushing for a backstage role when she retires," he added with a grin to Deville, who laughed.

"So, I'm face now," Zelina said, somewhere between statement and question. "What about the cartel?"

"We're going to be faces, too," Seth said, stepping up beside her.

"Wait, you knew about this?" she exclaimed, looking up at him. It was getting more and more bizarre by the minute.

"Remember you took me to see Hunter?" Seth prompted. "That's when he told me."

"Right," she said vaguely.

"Listen, why don't we go talk in my office?" Hunter suggested.

"I'll see you later, Zel. Congrats again," Sonya said, standing by the locker room door.

Zelina turned and smiled at her. "Yeah. Thanks, girl."

Setting off following Hunter towards his office, Zelina put her title belt over her shoulder. She was going to have to get used to carrying it. It felt a bit awkward, like it was too big. Being small was a pain in the ass sometimes.

"That looks so good on you," Seth said.

"Not as good as yours looks on you."

"Can that wait until later?" Hunter said in front of them, humour in his voice.

Zelina giggled. "Sorry. I guess we've got all night."

"I'll stop you there," Hunter said.

Seth laughed, seeing the look of embarrassment on her face. Her comment hadn't sounded the way she had meant it to.

"Alright, here we are," Hunter said, opening the door to his office. He entered, then held the door for them. Once they were inside, he closed it behind them.

"So, Sonya was right with what she said?" Zelina asked.

"Pretty much. Let me explain why we want to turn you face. You have a part in the movie about Paige's life that's coming out next month. We want to be able to use the two of you together to promote it. Needless to say, that wouldn't be a sensible thing to do if you're at each other's throats on TV every Tuesday night."

"But Barrett and Paige specifically said they took the management jobs with the aim of taking down The Vega Cartel."

"That's what I was thinking earlier," Seth said.

Hunter nodded. "I understand what you're saying. The way we figure it is that if you, Zelina, stopped acting like an abominable piece of crap, and the cartel stopped cheating to win and stuff, taking you down would no longer be a top priority. Indeed, over time, it would stop being an objective at all."

"How exactly are you going to turn us face?" Seth asked. "Meaning me, Bobby and Joe. You said by booking us as faces earlier. Can you be more specific?"

"Sure. We're going to give you a heel stable to work with. That's another reason Barrett and Paige would stop going after the cartel; they would be focused on the new team instead."

He went on to spend a few minutes laying out the ideas for the new team.

"Wow," Zelina said when he was done. "That really is a lot to think about."

"You're not kidding," Seth agreed. "And this all starts Tuesday night?" he asked Hunter.

The boss nodded. "Yep."

Zelina said, "Just so I'm totally clear on what I'm doing, when I go out there Tuesday, I'm face? I'm smiling, acknowledging the fans, stuff like that?"

"Yeah. We're going to open the show with an official presentation of the championship, which will be handled by Renee. You'll shake hands, putting your differences aside. That'll be a big face turn indicator for the fans."

"That makes sense," Zelina said pleasantly.

"Also, I want you to get on Twitter when you're back on the bus. Start retweeting some people who have said nice things to you or about you, and put out a tweet thanking everyone."

"Got it," she said seriously.

"Anything else I need to tell you?" Hunter asked himself, trying to jog his memory. "Oh, yeah, when you come out by yourself, for matches or for that presentation segment this Tuesday, you're going to have A Queen is Born for your theme. We see it as yet another way to get across that you're a face."

"Alright," Zelina said, failing to hide the fact that she was starting to feel concerned.

"Speak your mind," Hunter encouraged her, having picked up on it.

"I'm just worried that with everything you've said here, the cartel is on its last legs. I really don't mean to sound unappreciative because I really am so thankful for what I've been given, but I don't want the cartel to end. I think it's one of the best stables for a long time."

"I agree. And I share the concern," Seth said.

"Guys, let me assure you, we're turning the cartel face, not breaking it up. I see the cartel being around for a long time to come."

Zelina looked up at Seth and he smiled. "Thanks, Hunter. That reassurance means a lot," he said.

"I'll let you both go. I'm sure you've got celebrating you want to do. We'll talk some more Tuesday night."

"Alright, we'll see you then," Seth said, exchanging a handshake with the boss.

When that was done, Hunter gave Zelina another congratulatory hug.

"Thanks again, Hunter," she said.

"You don't have to thank me. Just remember that whatever you do now, you do as our Women's Champion." The hug ended, but Hunter continued speaking. Zelina listened attentively, knowing that she was being told something important. "You walk into an arena as our champion. You walk out of a hotel or airport and meet fans you probably don't want to be there as our champion. You post on social media as our champion. Everything you do while you have that belt, you do representing us at the highest level. It's a lot of responsibility, but I know you're the right person for it."

"I won't let you down," she promised, feeling the weight of his words on her shoulders. He was right, though. As scary as the thought was, she was the face of women's wrestling in WWE now, for as long as they let her keep the belt.

"Have a good night," Hunter said as a dismissal from the office.

"You too," Seth said, opening the door for Zelina to leave first.

"It's still sinking in, Seth," she said once they were out in the hallway. "All that stuff Hunter just said. I really am one of the main people representing this company right now. That's insane."

"But you'll be great at it," he said confidently.

"You think so?"

He stopped walking, automatically making her do the same. He kissed her on the forehead. "I know so. Come on, where's that Zelina self-belief I love so much?"

"It's here," she assured him, smiling. "There's just a lot to take in."

They started walking again. "You know what I took in?" he said.

"What?"

"When I was waiting for you in Gorilla, Vince wasn't there. Hunter was producing the match. I don't know if I've ever seen that before, apart from NXT obviously."

"Wow, you're right!" she exclaimed. "I wonder where he was? People keep talking about Hunter having more say in booking and stuff. Maybe it's true?"

"If you want to know what I think, my guess is Vince has given Hunter the women's division to work with to see what he does with it."

"Yeah, that could be true," she considered. "Hunter kept using the word 'we', but who knows who 'we' is? Vince's name definitely didn't come up at any point tonight."

"There have been those dirt sheet articles talking about Hunter having a large say about what happens on Smackdown, while Vince concentrates on Raw. Maybe he's decided to step things back a bit? At his age, it might even be doctor's orders. Who knows?"

Zelina smiled up at him. "Whatever the deal is, it's working out well for us."

"It sure is, muñeca," he replied happily as they approached the Smackdown men's locker room. "Hey, we should get a picture together," he suggested. "Hunter said to put stuff on Twitter. Let me get my belt and we can pose together."

"Great idea," she said.

When he disappeared into the locker room, Zelina took her belt off her shoulder to look at. It was stunningly beautiful, and that was with generic side plates on it. She knew that some personal ones would soon be added to it for her. She wondered what design they might come up with.

The locker room door opened and Seth walked out, carrying the WWE Championship. Bobby and Joe came out behind him.

"Wow, Zel, congratulations," Bobby said, walking over and hugging her. "That shitbag boyfriend of yours didn't tell us you were going over."

The hug was a tender moment for Zelina. There was a lot of banter between the group on the tour bus, and it sometimes came close to crossing a line, but underneath that, they had all formed a bond with each other. That was why she had spoken out against breaking up the team back in Hunter's office.

"Thanks, Bobby. I'm sure he wanted the surprise to be there for you," she chuckled.

They parted, then Joe stepped forward. "It looks good on you, Zel."

"Thanks, Joe," she smiled, accepting his hug and hoping that he didn't crush her. He was surprisingly gentle.

"Want me to get the picture?" Bobby offered.

Seth handed over his phone. After hugging Joe, Zelina stood next to her man, on his right side. She had her belt over her right shoulder. Seth put his title over his left shoulder and his right arm around her shoulders. They both smiled and Bobby took the picture.

"There you go," he said, handing Seth's phone back.

"Let me see," Zelina said excitedly.

"Aww, it's a great pic," Seth said, showing it to her.

Looking at it made her start getting tearful again. It was immediately one of her favourite pictures of them together, even though it was obvious she had been crying. She was tempted to tell him not to upload it, but she resisted.

Seth was already on the Twitter app. He added the picture to a new tweet. Without writing an actual message, he typed two hashtags:  _Champions_  and  _Sega_. "I still can't believe that's our name," he said with a grin.

"It's grown on me a lot," she replied with a smile. "I'd better go get showered and changed, baby."

"Oh, God, don't start that baby shit," Joe said, quickly heading for the locker room.

"You're not going to wait for Seth to call her muñeca?" Bobby asked, scooting out of the before Zelina could slap him.

"What have I told you about saying muñeca?" she demanded, feigning anger.

Joe and Bobby disappeared into the locker room, both laughing.

"I swear it's like we've already got two kids," Zelina said, shaking her head.

"No way. If they're anybody's kids, they're Bayley and Daga's."

Zelina burst out laughing at that. "I can actually see Daga being a mother figure to those two idiots. She might have to tone the language down a bit, though."

"You can tell her that if you want?"

She laughed again. "No thank you. I'll see you on the bus, baby."

"Okay, muñeca. I'll tell Bobby I said that."

Stretching up, Zelina kissed her man passionately. "Love you."

"I love you, too."

With that, Zelina walked down the hallway to the women's locker room. When she entered, she was greeted and congratulated by those who hadn't seen her since the end of the match. Only one person made no effort to go over to her. She noticed Sasha Banks sitting by her locker, making a show of inspecting her finger nails with a face like a wet weekend.

Fuck you, too, Zelina thought as she went over to her locker. There was no way Banks was going to rain on her parade tonight, or any other night for that matter. She saw Sonya roll her eyes, having seen how Sasha was behaving. Typically, Bayley was oblivious.

"I just saw the picture of you and Seth," Bayley said, beaming. "You guys are so cute, Zel. I can't even deal with it."

"Thanks, Bay," Zelina said, putting her belt down on the bench in front of her locker. She took her phone out of the locker and went straight onto Twitter. The first thing she did was quote Seth's tweet with the picture, adding a smiley face and a muscly arm emoji. Then she had a quick scroll through her feed, retweeting a few kind messages. There would be time for more of that later.

"Right, I'd better hit the shower," she announced. After getting her things ready, she spoke to Sonya as she walked towards the showers, which conveniently took her right past where Sasha was sitting. "Look after my belt, please." She lowered her voice as she walked past Banks and added, "I'll have it for more than five minutes, unlike some people."

Getting that dig in was just one of the reasons she had a smile on her face the whole time she was in the shower.

* * *

As was often the case, Zelina saw that she and Bayley were the last ones to get back to the bus. Everyone else's cases were already in the luggage compartment, and Elena was standing there waiting for them. Naturally, she greeted Bayley first, before moving on to Zelina.

"Congratulations, Zelina. I'm very pleased for you," she said, offering her a hug.

"Thanks, Daga, it means a lot," Zelina said, returning the embrace.

As Elena set about loading their cases in the hold, she said, "Just make sure Bay wins it next, or we will have words, yes?"

Zelina chuckled at the joke. "If it was my decision, she would have won it tonight."

"Well I didn't, you did, and you deserve it," Bayley smiled. She put an hand on Zelina's back and ushered her towards the bus. "Come on, let's go celebrate."


	50. Chapter 50

_Tuesday Night Smackdown – August 21st 2018_

After a video package to recap the events of Summerslam, Smackdown went on air with Renee Young standing in the ring, microphone in hand. The canvas was covered in a black carpet, and there was a pedestal in the centre of the ring. Looking resplendent, the brand new WWE Women's Championship stood on top of it, ready to be presented to its first holder.

When Renee made her introduction, she did it with a lot more positivity than might have been the case a matter of days before. Her voice still sounded a little rough, even two days after Summerslam. "Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the new WWE Women's Champion, Zelina Vega!"

A mixed reaction greeted Zelina when her new theme song, A Queen is Born began to play, along with a brand new entrance video. She was still being booed by those who hadn't cottoned on as yet that she had turned face, or who simply still hated her. But there was also a healthy number of cheers from those who been moved by the events of Summerslam, or who had bought into the idea of Vega as a face.

In a further contrast to the Zelina of the past, she walked out onto the stage with a smile on her face. On her way down the entrance ramp, she gave the fans a wave of gratitude for those who were cheering.

Coach was the first of the two commentators to speak. "Jonathan Coachman here alongside Corey Graves. Renee Young will be joining us after she has presented the WWE Women's Championship to Zelina Vega. What an achievement it was at Summerslam for Vega to come out on top, when she was one of the underdogs heading into the match."

"I was disappointed to be honest," Graves said. "Not that Zelina won, but with what happened afterwards; all the crying and stuff. It was kind of pathetic."

"I found it very heart-warming, personally," Coach countered. "Zelina achieved a lifelong dream by reaching the top of the mountain in this industry, and yes, it was an emotional moment for her."

"Just not what I expected to see from the leader of The Vega Cartel," Graves said grumpily.

Zelina had entered the ring. As her new music faded out, she approached Renee and asked for her microphone, rather than demanding it.

Looking a little hesitant, Renee handed it over.

"Thank you, everyone," Zelina said, looking around at the audience. "Wow, what a night it was at Summerslam, huh?"

The fans cheered their agreement, while Renee nodded hers.

"Now, before we get into the presentation, I have a couple of things to say. After getting what, as you all saw, was a very emotional victory, Sunday night was a very mixed experience for me. There was celebration, of course, but after seeing the outpouring of support and positivity from all of you, it was also a night of reflection."

"A night of reflection?" Graves said quizzically. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"What I found myself thinking was that, while it's true that The Vega Cartel have achieved a lot of success, we have also done some things that we can't be particularly proud of. And that's on me," she admitted frankly. "I'm the leader. I set the tone. Sunday night, I couldn't help wondering if I could be a better leader by setting a better example. You see, I didn't cheat to win at Summerslam; I fought to win, and it made me so proud when I walked out of that arena as the WWE Women's Champion."

The fans were listening, not cheering, but Zelina had expected that. After all, she was hardly likely to go from being arguably the most hated person on Smackdown to getting the kind of reactions Ronda Rousey was getting in the space of one victory and half of a babyface promo. They weren't booing her, that was the main thing.

"So, I decided that yes, from now on, The Vega Cartel is going to get a new style of leadership from me. Bad News Barrett and Paige came to Smackdown with the intention to destroy my cartel. I'm here to tell them tonight that it doesn't have to be destroyed, it can, and will, be reformed."

"Reformed?" Graves asked, sounding like he found the idea stupid.

With that said, Zelina turned to face Renee. "That brings me to you, Renee. I'm not going to stand here and apologise to you. Frankly, you gave as good as you got, and by doing that, you got my respect. I propose we put our differences behind us."

As Zelina extended her hand, Renee looked around at the fans, trying to gauge their opinion of what she should do.

"I don't believe what I'm seeing right now," Graves said with distaste. "What has happened to Zelina Vega?"

"She's finally showing some character; some class," Coach said. "Shake her hand, Renee."

Some of the fans were cheering Renee on, while a small number booed. They maybe expected the whole thing to be a ruse, and that Renee was about to get the snot beaten out of her.

Still looking hesitant, Renee slowly extended her hand and took Zelina's. There was a small cheer as they shook.

"That was big of both ladies," Coach said.

After the handshake, Zelina handed the microphone back to Renee, who stepped up next to the pedestal with the title belt on it and smiled before speaking to the audience. "All that remains is for me to say congratulations and present this belt to the new WWE Women's Champion, Zelina Vega!"

There was another small but noticeable cheer. Renee put her microphone down, then took the new championship belt off the pedestal. She offered it to Zelina with deference and respect.

"Thank you," Zelina said, her words easy to lip read. She held the belt up in celebration and A Queen is Born began to play. However, within seconds, Bayley and Sonya Deville appeared in the ring and the music faded back out. The new arrivals were greeted with some boos.

"Bayley and Sonya Deville out here now," Coach said. "Bayley is a cartel member, and Sonya is Vega's hired security."

Zelina turned to greet them, smiling at her two allies. She lowered the belt and put it over her shoulder.

Also smiling, Bayley applauded before walking over and offering a hug.

With a happy expression on her face, Zelina accepted the hug. But suddenly, with howls of shock and anger from the fans, Bayley turned the friendly embrace into a Bayley-to-belly suplex, slamming Vega down to the mat hard.

"Wait! What is this?" Coach yelled. "Bayley suplexed the hell out of Vega!"

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Bayley screamed, starting to put the boot in to Zelina while she was down. "What the hell is wrong with you?" she shouted again.

Sonya stepped forward with her police baton, pointing it at Bayley to make her back off.

"Deville stepping in," Graves said. "Bayley has lost it with Vega!"

Bayley raised her hands defensively, wanting no part of Sonya or the baton. She had seen people get the treatment with that first hand.

Sonya crouched down and helped Zelina up, asking if she was okay. "You good?" she could be heard asking as Zelina made it to her feet. But then, striking with the swiftness of a lightning bolt, she hammered Zelina in the stomach with the baton, sending her crumpling to the mat.

"Oh! Deville has turned on Vega as well!" Coach cried. "Sonya beating Zelina with that baton! This is vicious!"

Renee was still in the ring and had seen enough. The fans cheered loudly as she rushed across the ring and jumped on Sonya's back, trying to stop the appalling attack.

Reacting quickly, Bayley dragged Renee off Sonya's back, whipped her around and hit her with a powerful Bayley-to-belly. The fans were now all over her and Sonya, who had gone back to work on Zelina with her baton.

"Somebody stop this!" Coach pleaded. "Zelina Vega is being destroyed here by Bayley and Sonya Deville."

"I can't say I blame them," Graves said. "You heard what Bayley was shouting: 'What's wrong with you?' I agree. Zelina Vega came out here pandering to these fans and to Renee Young. It was cringe-worthy. I've totally changed my opinion on Vega after that."

Eventually, Sonya was done wrecking Zelina, who was out cold. Bayley handed her a microphone that she had just fetched, and Sonya leaned down over Zelina to deliver a message. "I work for Bayley now."

With the fans booing, Bayley took the microphone, and added a message of her own. "And I don't work for you."

"Woah! Bayley and Deville are together," Graves said. "Now that really is a team I can get behind. They've turned their backs on Zelina Vega and the cartel."

With Sonya's music playing and boos raining down from the crowd, Bayley led her new hire from the ring, but not before kicking over the pedestal that the championship belt had been standing on.

"Look at the destruction Sonya and Bayley have left in their wake," Coach said. "Both Renee Young and Zelina Vega have been taken out. I think we need some help out here for Zelina."

"What about the rest of the cartel? Are they going to turn on Vega as well?" Graves asked just before the show went to commercial.

* * *

After the break, Zelina was shown being helped towards a door marked with the Vega logo by Seth and Bobby. Seth was carrying the women's championship belt for her.

"I'm okay," she told them, despite looking seriously roughed up. "Just get me into the locker room."

As they approached the door, Joe opened it and stepped out into the hallway. "You okay, boss?" he asked her with concern.

"I will be. Just need to sit down."

Seth and Bobby helped her into the room and carefully lowered her onto one of the leather couches. Seth put her belt down next to her.

All three men waited while she took a moment to compose herself, sitting with her head in her hands. When she lifted her head and looked up at them, she sighed. "Anyone else want to leave the cartel? If you do, speak up now and you can go. You don't have to stick a knife in my back like Bayley just did."

"Of course I'm with you," Seth said before glancing at Bobby and Joe. "And so are these guys."

"Absolutely," Bobby said. "You lead us however you choose to lead us. We have faith in you and we're behind you one hundred per-cent."

Zelina looked at Joe, who nodded his agreement. "One hundred per-cent. Bayley only cares about Bayley. We're not like that. We're loyal to you, and to each other."

"Good," Zelina said with something approaching relief. "Because if people get the idea that there's weakness in the cartel, they'll do their best to destroy us. I'm not going to allow that to happen."

* * *

Paige, Smackdown's general manager, was shown standing in her office. Bayley and Sonya Deville walked into the shot, drawing boos from the fans who were watching on the big screen.

"You asked to see us?" Bayley said with precious little respect.

"No, I demanded to see you," Paige said pointedly. "After what the two of you did to Zelina Vega earlier tonight, I wanted to tell you that you will be in tag team action next week, against Zelina and a partner I will find for her."

Bayley grunted derisively. "Good luck finding someone to team with her, now she's turned into a complete sap. What are you going to do, put Renee Young in her corner?"

"I might just do that. Now get out," Paige ordered.

Bayley turned and walked away, leaving Sonya to give her former mentor a poisonous glare.

"Sonya Deville is a dangerous woman," Coach said. "If I was you, Renee, I wouldn't want to find myself in that match next week."

"After what happened earlier, I'll team with Vega if no one else will."

* * *

A little later in the show, Paige was again shown in her office, this time busy on her phone. Sasha Banks walked in, carrying her Money in the Bank briefcase.

"Sasha. Something I can do for you?" the GM enquired.

"It's more what I can do for you. You're looking for someone to team up with Zelina Vega against Bayley and Sonya next week. I'll do it."

Paige raised an eyebrow and made a point of looking at the briefcase. "Let me get this straight. Ms Money in the Bank, Sasha Banks, wants to team up with the WWE Women's Champion, Zelina Vega?"

"That's what I just said to you. I have unfinished business with Bayley. So am I in the match or not?"

Paige considered for a moment, then nodded. "You're in."

Looking satisfied, Sasha walked out of the shot.

"There you have it," Renee said. "Vega and Banks take on Bayley and Deville next week."

"I'm not sure I'd be particularly happy about that if I was Zelina Vega," Coach replied.

* * *

The main event of the episode was Seth Rollins against Kevin Owens. It was notably the first time a cartel member had been booked against a heel. After a very physical encounter, Seth got a three count following a Curb Stomp.

"Rollins wins! Rollins wins!" Renee called out.

At ringside, Zelina was shown looking happy with the victory, but that didn't last long. Reacting to something she had seen out of the corner of her eye, she turned to face the corner of the ring. She wasn't in time to defend herself. A women came flying off the ring steps, taking her out with a diving crossbody.

"What the… Who is that?" Coach cried.

The realisation set in for the commentary team at the same time as it did for the crowd, who started cheering.

"That's Nikki Cross!" Graves shouted. "Nikki Cross from Sanity! Look at her pounding away on Zelina Vega!"

Seth had seen what was going on, and started heading over to that side of the ring to go and interfere. He never made it as far as the ropes. All three male members of Sanity hit the ring, having come through the crowd. The enormous Killian Dain ran through the back of Seth like a freight train, flattening him.

"Sanity are here on Smackdown!" Renee yelled over the top of an NXT chant which had quickly broken out.

Seth was hauled to his feet by Alexander Wolfe, who got him in position for a belly to back suplex. When he delivered the move, Eric Young turned it into a diving neckbreaker for a devastating double team move.

Owens had rolled out of the ring, and quickly bailed out, heading down the side of the entrance ramp to the back before he could become the next target of Sanity.

"What a move that was! Seth Rollins has been destroyed!" Coach called. The shot changed to the outside of the ring, where Vega was savagely hurled into the ringside barrier by Cross. "Vega into the barricade! The Vega Cartel are being assaulted here!"

"Here come the other two members!" Renee exclaimed as Bobby and Joe hit the ring.

They did their best to fight off the three men who had invaded Smackdown, but the numbers game soon proved decisive, as did the power of Dain, who managed to get the Ulster Plantation on Roode.

"Look at the power from Killian Dain!" Graves shouted. "Bobby Roode broken in half by the Ulster Plantation!"

That left only Joe, who was down on the mat, being mugged by Alexander Wolfe and Eric Young. With the crowd still cheering the shocking debut, Young went up to the top rope.

"Here it comes…" Renee said just before he leapt into the air to deliver his signature flying elbow drop.

"Textbook perfect elbow drop by Eric Young," Coach said. "Sanity have taken out The Vega Cartel! Never before have the cartel been attacked like this! All three men are lying destroyed in the ring, and Vega herself is down out here at ringside after being taken out by Nikki Cross!"

Nikki began running around the ring like a lunatic, celebrating with each of her three teammates in turn while they posed, standing utterly dominant over the remains of the cartel members.

"Sanity have arrived on Smackdown! I can't believe it!" Graves yelled.

"A terrible night for The Vega Cartel!" Renee exclaimed as the graphic to signal the end of the show appeared in the corner of the screen. "First Bayley turned her back on them, then Sanity arrived and took them all out! Why? That's the question I have to ask. Why attach the cartel?"

"Like Zelina said herself earlier tonight, if people perceive weakness, they will try and take out the cartel. Sanity have arrived to do exactly that. So much for Vega's new style of leadership," Graves mocked.

"Do Sanity spell the end for the The Vega Cartel?" Coach asked just before the show went off the air.


	51. Chapter 51

_Earlier that day_

"Bayley, turning you heel was a long-term project for us. We can't go back on it after just a few months, so you're going to be turning on Zelina tonight and leaving the cartel."

"Oh, man," Bayley sighed in obvious disappointment.

The entire cartel group were in Hunter Helmsley's office, and looked at each other in surprise at the bad news they had just gotten from the boss.

A further awful thought dawned on Bayley and she looked close to tears. "I won't have to stop traveling on the bus, will I?"

"Why is that such a problem?" Hunter asked, finding it an overreaction for a change in travel arrangements.

"I'm, uh, dating Elena, our driver," she said reluctantly, forced to come out to her boss. "If I stop traveling on the bus, I'll hardly see her. Please don't make me do that, Hunter."

"Hmm," Hunter said, deep in thought. "I can't see how we can go on having you travel on the Vega bus after you've left the team. I understand that..."

"What if it wasn't the Vega bus?" Seth cut in.

Hunter gave him a questioning look. "What do you mean?"

"What if, between us, we bought the bus from you? We could get it resprayed and get the Vega logo taken off it, making it a regular tour bus. People travel together regardless of their kayfabe relationship all the time, so the problem here is the Vega logo on the bus as much as anything else, right?"

Considering that, Hunter nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah, I suppose it is."

"It's been a while since we've even been filmed on it for a show, so far as I can remember," Zelina put in.

"That's true," Joe said. "And if we're turning face now, now would be a good time to lose it as part of our act, if we're going to."

"I'll tell you what I'll do," Hunter said after weighing things up. "I think the bus has served the purpose we wanted it to serve, so I'll speak to Vince about selling it to you. But are you all sure you're willing to buy it? It's up to you guys to sort the money out between you."

General mutterings of agreement came from the group, but Bayley stepped in. "That won't be necessary. I'll talk to Daga about it. She's been looking to buy a new bus for her company since she sold the one we're using to WWE. She can just buy it back again, if Vince agrees to sell it, of course."

"Are you sure she'll want to do that?" Joe asked.

"If it means I get to stay on the bus with her and the rest of you guys, of course she will. I don't want any of you to have to pay out for it. This is something Daga and I should take care of."

"But we all want you to stay with us," Bobby said with uncharacteristic tenderness.

Standing next to him, Zelina looked up at him and saw that he looked genuinely wounded by the prospect of losing one of their traveling group. As strange as it might have seemed to an outsider, there was a real closeness between them all.

"I can see what it means to all of you, so I'll put the idea to Vince with my recommendation to agree to it," Hunter said. "Fair enough?"

"Fair enough," Bayley nodded appreciatively. "Thank you, Hunter."

"I'll let you know by the end of the night," Hunter added to further put her at ease. "Now, as I said, Bayley will be turning on Zelina and the cartel tonight. She'll be taking Sonya with her. Bayley, the deal will be that she's now your hired security, having agreed to walk away from Zelina and work for you instead. It helps us to keep booking you as the cowardly heel you've been playing for the past couple of months, and Sonya as the unscrupulous mercenary."

"I'm down for all of that," Bayley said, wanting to seem as positive as possible after her objection about the bus. "I like working with Sonya a lot. Her new gimmick is badass. I assume we'll be in a rivalry with Zel?"

Hunter nodded. "You will. And so will a member of the new faction we're bringing in to go against the cartel."

"Bringing in?" Seth queried, having picked up on that choice of wording.

"Bringing up would probably have been a better way to put it. Sanity will be debuting tonight, and their first run is against you guys."

"Yes! I love that," Joe said. "Three guys and a girl, all of them seriously tough. It's perfect."

"Yeah. I love their stuff as well," Bobby said. "This could be a lot of fun."

"I'm glad you're all keen on the idea," Hunter said, reading positive reactions on the faces of those who hadn't voiced their excitement. "It's going to start with a run in at the end of the show tonight. You'll find details on your formats, and you'll get together with Sanity before the show to work out some spots, of course."

"Of course," Seth said.

"Any questions on any of that?" Hunter asked. No one had any, so he brought the meeting to an end. "Good. That'll do for now. Everyone apart from Zelina can go."

"In trouble again," she said as a lame joke as Seth smiled at her before making his way to the door. Once all of her teammates had left the room, she spoke to the boss. "I'm not in trouble, am I?"

"Not at all," he chuckled. "Just a few quick things I need to run through with you. First of all, as we discussed Sunday night, we want you and Paige promoting Fighting with My Family together. We've lined up your first appearance for this Thursday. We've done a deal for you to appear in multiple Barnes & Noble stores across the country over the coming month until the movie launches."

"Great!" Zelina said excitedly. "Is it a signing, or just a photo op?"

"Photo op only, in front of a backdrop promoting the movie."

"Okay, sounds good."

"There are a couple of other things, too. Firstly, we've had a bit of restructure of some staff. One thing you'll notice is that from next week, Coach will be moving to Raw. Booker T has asked to step away from the commentary table to focus on other things, and his request has been granted. To replace Coach on Smackdown, we're bringing up Brody Alexander from NXT. As far as your matches are concerned, since he always played such a Vega mark on NXT, he's going to continue that here, albeit with you now in a face role."

"Makes sense. Since Corey is the heel guy, he can't keep sucking up to me now," Zelina said with a smile. "Brody's a good commentator. I'm glad he's getting the chance to step up."

"There are other people getting called up, too, which brings me to the second thing I wanted to let you know. We've also brought up two other people you're familiar with. Andrade Almas debuts tonight."

"Oh, excellent! I'm glad he's over his injury," Zelina smiled, thinking that her former on-screen client deserved a break after his long injury layoff. "What do you have for him creatively? He needs someone to talk for him, of course."

"Right," Hunter agreed. "He's having a debut match tonight against Randy Orton in the US Championship open challenge. Then next week, we're going to see him form a team with Kevin Owens."

"Yeah, that'll work," she said, still smiling. "I'll have to make sure I say hi to him at some point tonight. You mentioned two people, though. Who's the other?"

"We've moved some road agents around as well, to freshen things up a bit. Moving forward, we've assigned someone to your matches who you're going to be familiar with. We've brought Sam Monte up from NXT. I know you worked together a lot when you were there."

"Yeah, Sam and I got along great," Zelina said with a fresh smile. "It'll be good to work with him again, as much as I'll miss working with TJ. He's been great since I moved to Smackdown."

"TJ will still be around," Hunter assured her. "He'll actually be working with Seth, so you'll get to see plenty of him."

"That's good to know."

There was a knock at the door.

"Come in!" Hunter called.

The door opened and a tall guy with greying hair and a beard walked in. When he saw Zelina was in the office, a huge smile appeared on his face. "Hunter," he greeted the boss first out of politeness before approaching Zelina. "Great to see you again, Zel."

"And you, Sam," she said warmly, giving the much taller man a brief but affectionate hug. "You helped me to bring out some of my best performances on NXT. I'm so glad we can work together again."

"Me too. And congrats on the title win. The belt looks great on you."

"Thank you. We're going to be working with Nikki Cross!"

"So I hear."

* * *

While that happy conversation continued in Hunter's office, Seth walked back into the men's locker room, followed by Bobby and Joe. During the time that they had been gone, the room had pretty much filled up. Seth was surprised to see Andrade Almas in there. Apparently Sanity were not the only ones making a fresh start for themselves that night. Since the guy had worked with Zelina before, Seth decided to go over and say hello.

"Hey, man," he said pleasantly as he approached, offering his hand. "I didn't know you were getting the call up."

Almas shook Seth's hand, but there was no feeling in the gesture. "Seth."

"Zelina will be pleased to see you, I'm sure," Seth ventured with a smile, surprised at the lack of warmth he was getting from the guy.

"You think?" Almas grunted.

"Uh, yeah," Seth said, narrowing his eyes. "Why wouldn't she be?"

Almas shrugged. "She didn't care while I was injured," he said in awkward English with a heavy Spanish accent. "One call and two text message I get when I was gone," he added, butchering the language.

Seth was surprised to hear that Zelina hadn't contacted Andrade more than that during his recovery. He could understand why there would be some bitterness there. He would have taken offense if that had happened to him.

"And now you sleeping with her. Be careful, man. I sleep with her too; look where it got me. First time you not good for her, she bounce."

Seth stood there for a second with his mouth open. Zelina had slept with Andrade Almas? That was news to him, and it had his blood boiling instantly. How could she not have at least fucking told him? Now here he was with the asshole she had slept with telling him his girl would bounce on him the first time a better offer came along. The most sickening thing was that if what Almas said was true, maybe she was that kind of girl. He really didn't want to think that, but the thought was there in his head now.

"She not even tell you?" Almas asked, shaking his head with a look of something close to pity on his face.

"You just stay away from me," Seth snapped, pointing a finger in his face. He wasn't even sure why he was getting heated with Almas. So long as he was telling the truth, he wasn't the one to be angry with.

"Seth, you okay?" Bobby asked him as he turned and headed for the door.

Seth figured his friend had seen the expression on his face, which probably looked like thunder. "Not now," he told his friend, a real hard edge to his voice.

Yanking the locker room door open and storming out into the corridor, Seth felt himself getting more angry by the second. After everything he and Zelina had been through, she hadn't even confided in him the fact that she had slept with Almas. He felt disrespected. He felt used. Had Sasha Banks actually been right when she had accused Zelina of sleeping with Almas and then him to forward her own career? She hadn't exactly struggled on her journey to the top, had she?

He had headed off along the hallway towards Hunter's office, not even knowing if she was still there, or what to do if she was. He could hardly kick the boss's door in and start yelling at her. It turned out not to be a problem he had to deal with, for Zelina rounded the corner just up ahead, coming in his direction.

"Oh, hey," she said happily. "You'll never guess who they've brought up from NXT!"

"Hmm, let me try," Seth said venomously. "How about the guy you were fucking while you were on NXT, until he got injured?"

"Excuse me?" she asked, taken aback.

"You heard. Almas told me you were fucking him. See, that's something I'd have thought you would have mentioned," he raged.

His aggression made Zelina start getting fired up. That didn't surprise him, but in that moment he didn't care. "Who the hell do you think you're talking to like that?" she demanded.

"I notice you haven't denied it," he fired back.

"Yes, I slept with Andrade," she shouted at him. "And no, I didn't tell you. It didn't exactly come up in conversation, did it?"

"No, of course it didn't," Seth said theatrically. "Why would it? It's not like you'd want everyone to know you fuck every client they give you."

Zelina slapped him hard across the face before he even saw it coming. "Don't you ever... ever speak to me like that again!" she screamed at him, shaking with anger. She stormed past him and off towards the locker rooms.

"Maybe Sasha was right all along!" he yelled after her, wishing he hadn't as soon as he had done it.

Zelina didn't respond to that nasty parting shot, but he knew she had heard it. After she disappeared out of site around the corner, he kicked a nearby equipment case hard. "Fuck!" he raged, at himself, at Zelina, at the situation. He had thought theirs was a beautiful relationship. Now it felt like all of that had been an illusion; an illusion that was now crashing down around him. He felt like there was no trust there now, and without trust there was nothing.

"You okay, Seth?" It was Joe's voice, sounding concerned. "We heard shouting. I came out to see what was going on and Zel came past almost in tears. She refused to speak to me and ran into the women's locker room. What's going on?"

Seth turned to face his friend and failed to reign his anger in. "She was fucking Almas when they were on NXT. She never even told me, Joe. She was fucking him down there, then she gets the call up to manage me and only a couple of weeks in, I'm in bed with her. It feels like I've been played, man."

"Come on, Seth," Joe said, shaking his head. "I get why you're angry, but Zel's not like that. Besides, a blind man could see she loves you."

"That's what I used to think," Seth said bitterly, turning and walking away. "Don't follow me. I need some time to myself."

* * *

After the show

Bayley and Zelina being last to come out of the arena to board the bus was certainly not a rare occurrence. However, this time they were later than usual. The reason became apparent when Bayley eventually trudged up the steps. "Zelina's not coming," she reported to the group as a whole.

"What do you mean not coming?" Seth demanded as Elena simultaneously asked a very similar question. She got up from the driver's seat to go and secure the luggage compartment.

"She insisted I tell Daga to go without her. She's going to travel with Sonya instead. I tried to talk her around, telling her it was better to come and talk to you, Seth, but she wouldn't have it."

Still in a bad mood, Seth had been pacing up and down the bus for a while, to the annoyance of everyone else. "What did she say?" he asked in a confrontational tone.

"Seth, cool it," Bobby warned him. "Don't start on Bay, she's the messenger."

Seth sighed and held up an apologetic hand. "Sorry, Bay. What did she say?" he repeated in a much more acceptable tone.

"I really don't think you want me to answer that, so I'll just say she's seriously mad at you."

"Oh, she's seriously mad at me?" Seth asked incredulously. "Well that's fucking rich isn't it? She's not the one who just found out..."

Joe stood up. He wasn't acting confrontationally, but the fact that he stood up out of his chair still stopped Seth in his tracks. "We all feel for you, Seth, we do," the big guy said. "But I'm not going to have you shouting at Bay. Why don't you go cool off in the bedroom?"

It had been phrased as a suggestion, but Seth knew it really hadn't been. He was upsetting the group with his anger, and it wasn't their fault. Without saying anything, he turned and walked back to where the double bed was, which they all termed the bedroom. He closed the curtain to separate himself from the others and flopped down onto the bed.

Shortly, Elena had the bus moving. They really had left without Zelina. Seth took out his phone, seriously tempted to vent everything he was feeling in a text rant to her. Somehow, he stopped himself, knowing that it would only make things a lot worse if he went through with it.

He lay there stewing for an hour and a half, glad that no one came to disturb him, until he was able to tell by the motion of the bus that Elena was parking it up for the night. After the engine was turned off, he lay there listening to the others moving about and talking without paying attention to what was being said. He didn't really care. All he could think about was Zelina and how he felt betrayed by her. And she had the nerve to tell Bayley she was mad at him over the whole thing! He really couldn't see a way to fix what had happened. Who knew if she even wanted to fix it? Apparently, she might be happy to go and move on to another guy.

After a couple of minutes, to his surprise, someone opened the curtain. Even more surprising was who it was.

"Right, Seth, we are going to talk, yes?"

Seth sighed. "Okay, Daga. Sounds like fun."


	52. Chapter 52

"Zel, you really need to calm down," Sonya said patiently. They were in her hotel room, where Zelina would be spending the night. There was only a double bed in the room, so they were going to have to share. That had been by far the preferred option for Zelina, who had refused point blank to countenance the idea of traveling on the tour bus, despite all of the persuasion that Sonya and Bayley had attempted. Even now that they were in the hotel room, she was still pacing angrily around, while Sonya sat on the bed, pillows cushioning her back against the headboard.

"How can I calm down? I had my boyfriend back there basically shouting down the hallway that I'm a slut!"

Sonya took a deep breath. "Alright, I know you're mad, and I know you're hurting, but raging at me isn't going to help anything. It's been more than an hour now since we left the arena and honestly, it's starting to piss me off."

Zelina walked over to the window and stood looking out. She didn't say anything for a couple of minutes while she tried her best to calm herself down. Sonya was right that she didn't deserve to take the flack for what Seth had done. She had been kind enough to offer her room for the night, along with a friendly ear. Seth was the one her anger should be directed at.

"Zel?" Sonya prompted gently. "Come sit down and talk to me, huh? I haven't even gotten a clear story of what happened yet, you've been so worked up about it."

Turning around, Zelina grimaced. "I'm sorry I've been going off at you. I just can't help it when I get pissed off. I really can't believe he said those things to me. What a total asshole."

Patting the bed beside her, Sonya said, "Sit down and tell me from the start what happened, without blowing up again. I want to help you here, but I need the full story."

"Alright." Zelina walked over and sat down next to her friend, shifting the pillows to prop her back the same way Sonya had arranged hers.

"I can get on to room service and get some beer or wine up here if you like?" Sonya offered.

"Thank you, but I'd better not. I'd probably get even angrier if I had drink inside me."

"Okay then, how did the argument start? Tell me the whole thing from the beginning."

Zelina covered her face for a moment, massaging her forehead to try and ease the headache that was starting to make itself known. With a heavy sigh, she started to tell her side of the story. "So, I had been in with Hunter. He was telling me about the promo stuff I've got to do with Paige for Fighting with My Family, and about some of the staffing changes they've made. I was really happy because they brought Sam Monte up to work with me."

"Everyone loves Sam," Sonya smiled. "He really is one of the good guys."

"Yeah, he is. So I was very happy when I came out of Hunter's office, and I set off to go find Seth and give him the good news. I came around a corner and there he was walking towards me. I said to him something like, 'You'll never guess who they've brought up from NXT,' and he launched right in on me. He said, 'I already know. The guy you were fucking on NXT, until he got injured.' I was stunned, as you can imagine. Seth had never spoken to me like that. The tone he used was like he thought I was the worst piece of shit he had ever seen. I don't think I've ever been talked down to as badly as that before, certainly not by someone I'm close to."

"I'm sorry he spoke to you like that," Sonya said with a compassionate look on her face. "So, reading between the lines, Andrade must have told Seth you were sleeping with him. Is it true?"

Trying to suck up her anger as much as possible, Zelina acknowledged that there was no judgement in Sonya's question. She was just trying to establish the facts of the situation they were talking about. "Yes, it's true. I slept with him once, and that was a mistake. It was the night he won the NXT title. We went out to celebrate and we both got blind drunk. We ended up sleeping together. What can I say? It was a stupid thing to do and I wish I hadn't done it."

"Oh, Zel," Sonya said sympathetically, moving a bit closer to her friend and putting an arm around her.

"Seth was going at me as if I'd been in a relationship with the fucking guy that I hadn't told him about."

"Maybe that's what he thinks?" Sonya ventured. "Are you sure you were clear with him that it was only once?"

"Uh, well, Seth demanded to know it was true that I slept with Andrade and why I hadn't told him. I shouted at him that it was, and that it hadn't exactly come up in conversation. I don't think I actually said it was only once, no. We were both so mad at each other. I slapped him for talking to me like shit and stormed off. That was when he shouted after me that Sasha might have been right all along. That was the most hurtful thing of all."

"You mean the other week when you said Sasha was giving you attitude? You didn't actually tell me what she said."

"She was accusing me of sleeping my way to the top. She said it was convenient how quickly I've been pushed, being given the cartel to manage and all of that stuff. She accused me of sleeping with Andrade when I was managing him, and now of course everyone knows I'm with Seth."

Sonya gave Zelina a squeeze and said, "Believe me, I'm trying to be the best friend I can here. But to do that, I need to tell you to try and see this from Seth's point of view, especially if you weren't even clear that you only slept with Andrade once and that it was a mistake. Seth will be wondering if he really means anything to you. He'll be feeling used. He'll be feeling betrayed."

"I haven't fucking betrayed him," Zelina snapped, jumping up off the bed, her hot-headedness taking over again. "I didn't cheat on him! I didn't lie to him about anything, I just didn't tell him."

"This is your biggest problem, Zel," Sonya said, keeping her cool. "You get all fiery as soon as someone challenges you. That really doesn't help in a situation like this. If you want to fix this with Seth, you need to calm the hell down."

"How can I calm down when my boyfriend is so willing to accept the fact that I'm supposedly a slut? How am I supposed to accept that he will just something like take that at face value without even speaking to me about it?" Zelina demanded heatedly, pacing again. "How am I supposed to just move on from that?"

"The same way Seth can move on from the fact that you've been with him for six months without telling him you slept with Andrade," Sonya said evenly. "You move on from it because you love each other and you want to be together. You guys are going to have to talk this out at some point if you want to fix things, and you can't go into it with that kind of attitude, like he's the one in the wrong and you're not. You're both at fault here, and you need to admit that to each other."

Before Zelina could reply, her phone started ringing. She took it out of her pocket and looked at the screen. "It's Seth. I'm not answering it," she said insistently, looking at Sonya, almost daring her to argue.

"I don't want you to answer it. You need to calm down before you talk to him. If you try it in this mood, you'll just fight again, and then it'll be much more likely that your relationship will be over."

* * *

Elena sat down on the end of Seth's bed after he moved his legs to make room for her. "This is an awkward position for me," she began with a pained expression on her face. "You are my friend, but you are also my client."

Sighing, Seth knew he was probably going to get a lecture for the way he had spoken to Bayley when she had given him the news that Zelina wasn't coming to the bus. Rightfully so, he had to admit. Bayley had done nothing wrong, and he had been aggressive towards her. That was not cool at all. "Don't worry about that, Daga. You can speak your mind. I know what you're going to say, anyway. I owe Bay an apology for going off at her."

"Yes, you do," Elena said, looking distinctly annoyed with him. "If I had been the bus and heard that, we would have had a big problem. Bay did nothing to deserve getting that from you. She was trying to help you. She spent a long time talking to Zel to try and get her to come with us."

"I know. I was out of line. I'll apologise to her. In fact, I'll apologise to everyone out there for how I was. I'm just so angry at Zelina right now, I can't even tell you."

"You should tell me," she encouraged. "You need to talk to someone. Talking always helps, and I am happy to listen. You obviously had a big argument. Tell me about it and I will try to help, yes?"

Seth decided what the hell, he might as well unload it all on someone. Maybe it would ease the pain of the betrayal he was feeling. "Alright," he agreed, sitting up to look at her better. "I got hit with it out of nowhere. I saw Andrade Almas in our locker room. He's the guy Zelina used to work with on NXT, as his manager. I figured with that being the case, and since it was his first night on the main roster, I would go and say hi. So I went up to him and he starts right into saying that Zelina didn't keep in contact with him while he was injured. I was thinking that wasn't particularly nice of her, but then he tells me to be careful because he was sleeping with her too, and she bounced as soon as he got injured. Ugh, it makes me feel sick just saying it."

"Stop," Elena said, raising a hand. "My English isn't great, but you just sleeping with him. That means more than once, no? Were they dating?"

"I don't know," Seth said, very frustrated. "When I confronted her, I told her he said she slept with him and she didn't deny it. She didn't even show any remorse. She just got mad at me."

"You were mad at her, she got mad at you. That is how arguments happen," she said reasonably. "You don't know if they were dating? You don't know if they slept together more than once? It might have been an accident, Seth."

He bristled at that. "Whose side are you on, Daga?"

"I'm not on anyone's side," she replied, with some frustration of her own. "I'm trying to help my friends when they're both being too stupid to listen to people."

"Stubborn. The word is stubborn, not stupid."

"Whatever the word is, answer me a question. You heard what this Andrade guy said. But do you have any idea what Zelina's side of the story is?"

That was when the idea entered Seth's head for the first time that he might have fucked up. He had gone right off the deep end as soon as Andrade had mentioned sleeping with Zelina, and hadn't given her a chance to speak with how he had launched into her the moment she had entered the same hallway as him. He actually didn't have the first idea of what her side of the story was. Almas could well have been baiting him for exactly the reaction he had gotten.

"Look at it from her point of view, Seth," Elena said softly, having seen a change in his expression. She reached out and took one of his hands in both of hers.

"That's what I'm doing now," he mumbled, feeling guilty about his Sasha comment in particular. "I said something really nasty, Daga. I'm not going to go into details, but it will have hurt her a lot. I'm still mad at her for not telling me she slept with the guy, but I do need to apologise for what I said."

Elena squeezed his hand and maintained eye contact with him. "She loves you, Seth. You love her. I know this. I know how I would feel if Bay and I had a fight. I thought I was going to lose her earlier when she told me she was out of the cartel."

"The bus," Seth recalled. "What did Vince say? Will he sell it to you?"

"Yes, for the same price I sold it to WWE for. It's not worth that with the amount of miles we've put on it, but I don't care. We need to take it off the road to be painted, but Bay can stay with us."

"I'm really glad to hear it, and I'm happy for you guys," he said sincerely.

"And I will be happy for you and Zelina when you work this out. Bay fought for our relationship today. You should do the same for yours, yes?"

"Yes," Seth said, closing his eyes for a moment. Despite the awkward English, Daga was talking a lot of sense. He opened his eyes again as Elena let go of his hand, and smiled at her. "Thanks for talking some sense into my stubborn, thick head."

"Stubborn. That's my new word for the day," she smiled. "Now, call Zelina. Make the first move and apologise."

"I'll ask her if she wants me to come to whatever hotel she's in."

"Okay, but it might be better to sleep first. Let cooler heads prevail. That's the right word, yes?"

"Yeah," Seth smiled, surprised that she knew that one. Elena also smiled as he called Zelina's number. "It's ringing," he reported.

Elena got up off the bed. "I'll leave you to it."

"She's not answering," he said, feeling his irritation flaring up again. "Her phone is on because it's ringing, so she's ignoring me. Fuck's sake!" he raged after a moment, when the call went to voicemail.

Having stopped just before opening the curtain to leave, Elena quickly stepped in to calm him down. "Send a text message then. Remember what I just said about fighting for your relationship? Cooler heads, yes? Stop feeling angry with Zel and concentrate on fixing things. Maybe she is too upset to talk. Start by texting her. Send an apology and see what happens."

"What if she doesn't reply?"

Elena grimaced. "We worry about that if it happens."

With that, Seth started typing out a message.

* * *

"He's sent a text now," Zelina told Sonya after her phone bleeped. She went on to read it aloud. "Zelina, I'm sorry for the nasty things I said, and for shouting at you. I'm sorry for saying Sasha might have been right. That was really not on. I should have let you tell me your side of the story instead of losing my cool. Can we talk about this?"

"You need to reply to him," Sonya encouraged. "Zel, if you ignore that message, that's probably your relationship done. I know you don't want that, no matter how angry you're feeling right now. Please think this through. Do you want to lose Seth for good?"

"No, of course I don't," Zelina said, her anger finally melting away. She almost burst into tears. "I just want him to realise he can't speak to me like that. I'm not going to be shouted at and talked to like a piece of crap by my own boyfriend."

"That's what he just apologised for," Sonya said reasonably. "You need to give the guy a chance. If I was you, I'd text back and apologise for not telling him you slept with Andrade, and ask him to come here tomorrow morning so that you can talk it out face to face."

"Not tonight?"

"No. You both need to cool off. Like I said before, if he comes over here now, you might end up fighting again, and that would be very bad. I think meeting him first thing in the morning would be better. Maybe you can sit down over breakfast or something?" Sonya patted the bed beside her again, encouraging Zelina to sit down next to her. "Come here, and we'll decide what to send."

Zelina walked over to the bed and sat down as suggested. Once she was comfortable, she started typing out a message. "I guess I'll start by apologising for not telling him about me and Andrade. I'll tell him that it was a drunken one night stand and it was a mistake."

Leaning over to see the message taking shape, Sonya said, "Then put that you agree you need to talk, and invite him to come here in the morning. Say you think it's better if you both cool off for tonight."

After including all of that, Zelina looked at her friend for final approval. "Shall I send that?"

Sonya nodded. "Yeah. See what he says to that."

Zelina sent the message. A reply arrived within moments, and she read it out. "Okay, text me in the morning and I'll get a taxi to your hotel. Where are you staying?"

She replied with the name of the hotel.

A further message arrived, and she read it to Sonya. "I'll see you in the morning. Sleep well, muñeca."

The message ending with that word made Zelina tear up. "Oh, Sonya," she said sadly, cuddling up to her friend.

"Hey, it's alright," Sonya said in a comforting manner, putting an arm around her in a tender embrace. "It'll be okay. Seth will come over tomorrow morning and you'll figure it all out."


	53. Chapter 53

Zelina had only managed to get a couple of hours of sleep. While Sonya's idea make sure that both she and Seth had some time to cool off made sense, it hadn't made for an easy night. Once her anger had worn off, it had been replaced by a horrible feeling of anxiety that had eaten away at the pit of her stomach all night. She kept asking herself over and over again what would happen if the relationship with Seth couldn't be saved. What if he didn't want to be with her anymore? What if he showed up and broke it off with her? Since he had ended their last text exchange by calling her muñeca, she hoped that wouldn't be the case, but the nerves were still there.

Sitting downstairs in one of the hotel's lounge areas with a cup of herbal tea, she kept running over the worst case scenario in her head. If Seth did break it off, she would not only be without a boyfriend, she would be without a home. While it was true that her house was not yet sold - although she had accepted an offer for it - she had no intention of ever going back there. All of her possessions were at Seth's house, too. It would be a nightmare having to sort out moving it all back out.

And then there was work. One of them would have to stop traveling on the tour bus because it would be out of the question for them to travel together. Even the shows themselves would become awkward, having to work so closely with him week in, week out. That was why people said it was a bad idea to date work colleagues.

The worst thing of all was that the more she thought about it, the more she felt guilty about her part in the argument. In the immediate aftermath, it had been easy to blame everything on Seth for shouting at her and speaking to her like dirt. But now that the anger had faded, she had to admit that she could have handled the whole thing a lot better herself. If only she hadn't let Seth's anger trigger her into slapping him, she might have been able to pull him aside and explain that while Andrade had told the truth, he obviously hadn't portrayed the situation the way it had really been, which was a one night stand that never should have happened.

That also presented a further question. Why had Andrade made telling Seth he had slept with her his first priority upon making his comeback and getting called up to the main roster? What a dick move that had been. She had done nothing to deserve that, and neither had Seth. She was going to have it out with Andrade the next time she saw him, that was for damn sure. The only thing she could think of to explain it was jealousy on his part, but that made no sense. She had quite clearly told him after that regretful night together that she didn't want to be with him and it would not happen again. She had thought they had gone on being friends, but maybe that wasn't really the case. Could Andrade have been feeling resentment and anger about what had happened the whole time they had worked together after that night? I certainly appeared like it.

The last thing she needed was another person she had been with in the past trying to make her life miserable. Hadn't she been through enough of that already with David Hernandez? Even that awful episode still wasn't over. She hadn't been given a date for his trial yet, where she would be testifying. That meant having to relive everything that evil bastard had done to her in front of a court room full of people. The thought made her shiver, but she was determined to go through with it. She had let David get away with attacking her eight years ago. He wouldn't be so lucky this time. If she had anything to do with it, he was going inside for the rest of his life.

"Zelina?"

Seth's voice made her physically jump. She had been so lost in her thoughts, she hadn't even noticed him approaching her. "Oh, you startled me," she gasped, looking up at him.

"Sorry," he said with little smile that made her feel so much better already. Her heart ached in that moment, such was her love for him. "I guess I should sit down," he was saying as he took the comfortable chair opposite hers. She saw that he had already been to the bar and bought himself a coffee.

"Seth, I'm really sorry," she said as soon as he took his seat, wanting to get in there quickly. "I really shouldn't have let myself get so angry, and I shouldn't have slapped you. That was going too far, and I feel really bad about it."

Seth nodded his acknowledgement of the apology. "Like I said in my text last night, I'm sorry for shouting at you, and for the comment I made about Sasha. That was totally not something I should have said, and I regretted it as soon as the words left my mouth."

Zelina sipped her tea, feeling immensely relieved. He hadn't come to break up with her. They really could fix it. "I'm also sorry I didn't tell you about Andrade and I. I know I should have."

"Yeah, you should," he said, obviously still hurt by it. "I never should have been in the position of finding out about it by him throwing it in my face. Can you imagine what it's like to have some prick in my face telling me he slept with my girl, and I didn't know about it? We've been together six months, Zelina. Six months, and you didn't tell me."

The pain in his voice made her feel even guiltier than she had been while she had been waiting for him to arrive. The guilt made her tear up. "I'm sorry," she said desperately. "I should have told you. I know I should. I only slept with him once, Seth. We were both seriously drunk, and we ended up in bed. I was mortified the next morning. You know my history; I'm very cautious when it comes to sex. I would never jump into bed with someone like that, yet I did it that night. It's one of my biggest regrets. I guess that's why I didn't tell you. It makes me seem like the kind of slut Banks accused me of being, when I'm really not. I'm really not." She felt a tear trickling down her cheek, and quickly wiped it away.

"I know you're not," Seth said compassionately after drinking dome coffee. "I'm glad I know the story now, at least. Did Almas ever try and make a move on you again afterwards?"

She shook her head. "I was perfectly clear with him that it wouldn't happen again. Maybe he resented that? I don't know."

"I don't know either. But what I do know is there can be no future in a relationship without trust. There can't be secrets between us, especially ones as big as that. You need to tell me things, Zelina."

"I know I do," she assured him in the sincerest tone possible. "And I wish I had told you. I can't change that now, but I can promise you that there are no more secrets. There's nothing else I should have told you and haven't."

Considering that for a moment, Seth sipped at his coffee. When he lowered his cup, he said, "Okay, I believe you, about all of it."

Zelina felt like they were so close to reconciliation. She just had to make one final push, by telling him exactly what she felt for him. "Seth, I need to know that you don't think I slept with you because of who you are. I love you. I love you with all my heart, despite how it might have seemed last night. No one has ever made me feel happy like you do. I never thought I would be lucky enough to find someone like you. I really don't ever want to lose you, baby."

"I never want to lose you either," Seth said, sounding like all of his pain and anger had just been blown away by her words. She had gotten through to him. He put his coffee down on the floor and stood up. "And I know you didn't sleep with me for any reason other than love. Come here, muñeca."

Zelina quickly put her cup down and got up, walking into his arms. She sighed in pleasure at being held by him. She had wondered if it might never happen again. "Oh, baby," she said softly, resting her head on his chest.

"I need you to promise you'll tell me things in the future," he said seriously. "As I said, this can't work if you keep secrets from me. Any relationship needs trust, Zelina. I don't have to tell you that."

"No, you don't. No more secrets, Seth, I promise. Again, there's nothing else I haven't told you that I should have, I swear."

"Okay," he whispered, giving her a kiss on the forehead.

She looked up at him so that they had eye contact. "When David attacked me at home that day, I was lying there tied up, with my mouth taped. I was scared to death, and you were the first person I thought of. I only wanted to live so that I could see you again. I'm not perfect, Seth, no one is, but I love you with everything I have. You are my life. Living with you is a dream come true."

"Oh, muñeca," he said kissing her forehead again. "It's a dream come true for me, too. You know what I believe?"

"What?" she asked softly.

"I believe it's possible for a couple to fight and come out of the other side stronger. I feel like that's what's happening here."

"Me too, baby. This reminds me of the first time you held me. It feels so nice. I'm remembering right now the moment after we first slept together, when you promised to always call me muñeca. It might sound lame, but it's really special to me that you do that? I makes me feel so loved every time you say it."

"That's because I always say it with love, like when you call me baby."

Zelina reached up and gave him a peck on the lips. "So, we're okay?"

"Yeah, we're okay," he smiled. He gave her a third kiss on the forehead. "You know, sleeping in that bed on the bus last night without you was beyond awful last night. I felt so alone. I could smell your perfume on your pillow and it made me miss you so much."

"Aww, Seth, that's so sweet," she said, squeezing him tightly. "It's also really sad that we slept apart because of an argument. I hated it, too. I spent the night in bed with Sonya."

"A lot of guys would pay good money to see that," he said, making the first joke of the day.

"Behave," Zelina giggled. "But seriously, we should make a rule to always talk over our problems in future. Every couple has problems, including us. But it shouldn't mean we have a screaming match and end up with one of us bailing like I did."

Seth stroked her hair tenderly. "Okay, that's a rule. No bailing, and we talk over problems."

For a minute, Zelina stood there just enjoying being held by her man. It really did feel almost like this was a fresh start in some ways. The embrace had that truly special feeling that usually came at the beginning of a relationship.

"You'll never guess who was giving me a talking to while Sonya was presumably doing the same thing with you," Seth said eventually.

"Well, since you said I'll never guess, it obviously wasn't Bay. Wait," she exclaimed, pulling back from him a bit. "What happened about the bus?"

"Daga is buying it. Or, her company is, I guess. Vince agreed to sell it back to her for the same price he paid for it."

"Yes! That's great news! They're such a sweet couple. I wouldn't have been able to deal if they had been separated."

"It would have been rough," Seth agreed. "It was actually Daga who came to talk to me, once she had parked the bus up for the night."

"Daga? Really?" Zelina said, eyes wide in surprise. "That must have been something. Did she give you the riot act?"

"Actually, no. I saw another side of her. I think she was already emotional about coming close to losing Bay from the bus, so she was actually quite gentle with me. She really talked a lot of sense and made me realise I was being a stubborn idiot. I feel closer to her as a friend as a result. I owe her for stepping up last night."

"I feel the same way about Sonya. She helped me to calm down and realise that I was in danger of throwing away what I have with you if I wasn't careful. Then I got upset and she comforted me. She's been a very good friend to me ever since I've known her."

"And now here we are," Seth smiled before giving her a peck on the lips. "You know what the only bad thing is?"

"What, baby?" She saw a strong desire for her appear in his eyes as she asked the question.

"We can't have make up sex in the middle of a hotel lounge."

"That really is a shame," she agreed, feeling herself starting to warm up for him. "I guess it'll have to wait until tonight when we're back on the bus."

"Back on the bus, yeah, but tonight? To hell with that. We can get a taxi back there right now."

"That's a much better idea," Zelina said longingly. "Let's go now."

"One more thing first. I love you, muñeca." With that, he kissed her passionately.

Stretching up and wrapping her arms around the back of his neck, she held him in place, moaning with pleasure into his mouth. By the time the kiss ended, she was absolutely on fire. "Can we get that taxi now?"

"You bet. Let's go."

Walking hand in hand, they headed out of the lounge and into the lobby, on their way to the hotel's front entrance. While Seth got on his phone to call them a taxi, Zelina took out her phone and loaded up Twitter. She typed out a short tweet: _I love my man._


	54. Chapter 54

For the second time in just over twenty four hours, Zelina found herself sitting in the lounge at a hotel, drinking a cup of herbal tea. This time she wasn't waiting for Seth, she was waiting for Paige. A car would be arriving soon to drive them to the Barnes and Noble store for the first of their meet and greet appearances to promote Fighting with My Family.

With the hotel being designated as the pickup point, Zelina had needed to get a taxi over there from where Elena had parked the bus, making sure to leave plenty of time in case of any traffic issues. That was one of the very few down sides of staying on the bus. But, on the bright side, she had arrived in plenty of time to enjoy the cup of tea before the car arrived.

Paige had just sent a text to say that she was on her way down from her room and asking where she was. Zelina had replied to tell her that she was already at the hotel, sitting in the lounge. While she waited, she found herself idly looking at her Women's Championship belt, which she had lying on her lap for safekeeping. She had been the champion for four days now, yet it still didn't seem real. Every female wrestler out there had the dream of being in the position that she was privileged to find herself in. That thought made her shake her head in wonderment.

The belt looked even better now, too. On Tuesday night, before Smackdown had gone on air, her custom side plates had been put on for her. They were a fairly simple design with a black background and the initials ZV in the now familiar fancy gold lettering that WWE used for everything Vega.

"It's a sweet-looking belt. Love the new side plates, too."

Zelina looked up at the sound of Paige's voice and smiled. "Hey. That's exactly what I was just thinking. I love the side plates they made for me."

"They're awesome," Paige agreed. She made no effort to sit down. "I think our driver is waiting in the lobby. I'm sure I recognised the guy. We can get moving, if you're ready?"

Downing the rest of her tea, Zelina set the cup down on the table in front of her and got up. "Let's do it," she said as she slung the title belt over her shoulder. She was at least starting to feel more comfortably carrying it, even though it didn't quite fit on her shoulder very well. "I'm still getting used to carrying this," she said with a smile. "Being small is a pain in the ass sometimes."

Paige grinned as they started walking across the lounge towards the lobby. "You'll soon get used to it. The pain in the ass for me when I had the old Divas Championship was when you take it through airport security and they recognise you, so they make a point of choosing your case to open 'to check it', then asking you if they can get a photo with you and the belt."

"I know they do that, I've seen it happen with Seth. I've not had it yet, though. People rarely recognise me unless I'm with him." That fact illustrated that while she might be thought of highly by Hunter, and could maybe considered one of the company's bright prospects, she was a long way from being a star like Paige, and she certainly wasn't a household name like Seth. "Frankly, I'll settle for fifty people turning up today to see us."

Chuckling, Paige shook her head.

"What?" Zelina asked, grinning self-consciously.

"Girl, you're the Women's Champion. I know it's all coming quite fast for you, but I also know you use Twitter, so I know you saw how it blew up Sunday night when you won at Summerslam. You have a lot of fans out there. Wait until we get to the store, then you'll see."

* * *

Zelina had enjoyed the twenty minutes sitting in the back of the car with Paige. The English girl was a lot of fun to be around. They had shared some jokes and funny stories, the last of which ended with them both laughing.

"We're almost there, guys," the driver told them pleasantly. "Just up ahead," he added, pointing as Zelina leaned forward between the seats to look.

"Holy..." she breathed, not adding the swear word that would have followed.

"I told you," Paige said with a laugh.

Zelina was stunned. She had seen big crowds for meet and greet events, of course, especially when Seth was the one she had happened to be with. What stunned her was that the one she could see up ahead looked to be not much smaller that what he might have gotten. It was unreal. "There are hundreds of them," she said in wonder.

"Yep, and you did as much to draw them here as I did," Paige said, giving her a playful punch on the shoulder.

Zelina glanced at her and smiled, but she found the words hard to believe. It didn't matter that Paige had been forced to retire, she still had a massive fan base. Plus there was the fact that the entire purpose of this event was to promote a movie about Paige's life.

"Can you drive past slowly?" Paige asked the driver as they neared the back end of the crowd. The car slowed, and Paige moved over to Zelina's side of the car.

Figuring out what she had in mind, Zelina lowered the window and they both stuck their heads out, shouting happily at the fans to alert them to their arrival. A cheer quickly went up, and people starting waving and shouting in their direction.

"We have to park around the back," the driver said, making a turn at the intersection which the store stood on the corner of, cutting off their sight of the crowd.

"Paige, that's insane," Zelina breathed, still awestruck. "All those people. There's no way they can all have gotten wristbands."

"Nope," Paige agreed as the car pulled into the staff parking lot at the back of the store. "I don't know about you, but I like to stay and meet everyone when I come to one of these things."

"Wait, we can do that?" Zelina asked, surprised to say the least. At all of the events she had done so far in her time with WWE, as soon as the allotted time or number of wristbands had run out, she had been quickly led out of there by whoever she had been with. She had assumed that was just how the company expected things to be done.

"Sure you can. Not in the store; they'll have to start getting ready to open for business again. But we can speak to the security guys and have them come out front with us. Fans appreciate it so much when you do that for them."

"I'm sure they do. I'm definitely up for it," Zelina said as they got out of the car. After thanking the driver, she continued. "The way I look at it, they've been standing in line for hours to see us. The least we can do is make sure they go home happy."

As they walked towards the staff entrance, which a Barnes and Noble employee had just opened for them, Paige said, "Thank you. It's so hard to make a lot of the guys see it that way." She slapped the title belt that Zelina had just put over her shoulder. "That's why you'll carry this so well, Zelina. You'll be a great champion outside the ring. So many of them underestimate or even ignore that."

"I'll do my best," she promised with great determination.

* * *

A short time later, Zelina and Paige were walking out of the staff area into the main body of the store. Since the event was simply a photo op, not a signing, the preparation had been simple from the store's point of view. A small area had been set aside for the few people at a time who would be let into the store to wait for their turn to come forward for their picture. Several yards away from that stood a large backdrop promo board for Fighting with My Family.

"We'll be standing there, then," Paige said unnecessarily.

"We should tell the security guys we're going to stay behind before we get started," Zelina suggested.

"Yep. Also, don't mention to any of the fans who come in that we're staying after the signing or some of them will end up hanging around. The idea is to see everyone who waited in line, not to have a party for three hundred people in the street."

"Got it."

Paige approached one of the two burly security team who were standing one either side of the large backdrop board. Zelina watched on while some words were exchanged, then Paige came back over to her. "We're good," she reported.

After the staff made some final preparations, one of the store's front doors was opened and the first small number of fans were admitted inside. Zelina saw that the first couple of people were wearing Paige's merch. "See, they're all going to be your fans," she said playfully.

"Yeah, okay," Paige chuckled. "I can see a 'I'm a Zelina Vega girl' shirt back there."

The first few fans got their pictures with nothing particularly of note happening as far as Zelina was concerned. That changed when the fan wearing the Vega girl shirt came forward. She had short blonde hair and looked to be in her late teens. As soon as she was sent forward by the staff member in charge, she burst into tears.

"Hey, don't cry," Zelina said soothingly, hiding her surprise as best she could and stepping forward to meet her halfway.

"I knew this would happen," the girl said through her tears as Zelina embraced her. Unsurprisingly, Zelina was the shorter of the two. "It means so much to me to meet you."

"It's my pleasure to meet you," Zelina insisted. "What's your name?"

"Amy. You mean the world to me, Zelina," she replied, holding on to her for dear life. "I'm so happy you won the title. I still can't believe it, even though I knew it would happen one day. I love you so much."

Amy was really rambling. Zelina was humbled beyond words that she meant so much to someone, so much so that she felt herself on the verge of tearing up, but she knew she had to try and calm her down so that they could get a picture. "Thank you, Amy, that's really sweet of you. I don't know what to say."

"I'm sorry for crying," Amy said as the hug ended. "I knew it would happen. I couldn't even sleep last night, knowing I was going to meet you."

"Do you want to get a picture with the belt?" Zelina offered, trying to gently move things on.

"Yes, please," Amy said, wiping her eyes and taking a deep breath to try and find some composure.

Paige stepped forward then to introduce herself, while Zelina got the belt ready to hand to Amy.

"Would you mind if I just got my picture with Zelina?" Amy asked Paige after some pleasantries were exchanged.

"Of course I don't mind," Paige said, stepping off to the side so that she wouldn't be in the shot.

Zelina offered the belt to Amy and said, "Hold it however you'd like and we'll get the picture."

"I'll copy your pose," Amy said. Holding the belt in both hands, she held it high in the air above her head.

Although she had done that pose after being presented with the title on Smackdown, Zelina hadn't decided that it was going to be 'her pose.' She felt like Amy had just made that decision for her.

They posed for the photo with Zelina pointing to Amy as she held the belt up. After a staff member took the picture, Zelina said, "I hadn't decided that would be my pose, until now, that is. So I guess I can thank you for that," she smiled sweetly.

"Oh gosh, really?" Amy asked excitedly. "This is unreal, Zelina. Thank you so much." She took her phone back from the staff member.

"Tweet me the picture later, please," Zelina said.

"I will. Thank you so much for being so good to me. I'll never forget it, I swear."

Zelina smiled and gave her another quick hug. "Neither will I. Thank you for coming to see me."

Looking tearful again, Amy walked slowly away. Meanwhile, Zelina approached Paige and puffed out her cheeks. "Wow, that was really something. She nearly had me crying."

Paige had a broad smile on her face. "You were amazing with her, Zel. You have a fan for life right there now. Like I said earlier, keep being like that with fans and you'll make a fantastic champion."

* * *

That evening, just after the tour bus had set off on the journey to the next town, Zelina finally had time to check her Twitter. She found searching her own name to be easiest way to see what people were saying about or to her, since her personal feed was always spammed with so much stuff.

The most popular recent tweet with her name in it was from a dirt sheet account. They had apparently written a short article about the fact that she and Paige had stayed behind for over an hour after their photo op session had ended to make sure that they met everyone and to ensure that no one went home without getting a picture.

She tapped on the tweet to see what some of the comments were, and what she found made goosebumps come up on her arms. Someone had apparently posted a picture they had gotten outside the store as a reply, and others had then followed suit. There had to be at least thirty different pictures posted under the tweet. Everyone was talking about how amazing she and Paige had been.

"Looks like you had a good time," Seth said, sitting beside her and peaking at her phone's screen. "You and Paige both look like you're having the time of your lives in those pics."

"We were," she smiled at him as she quoted the dirt sheet account's tweet and started typing out a quick message to thank everyone who had come to see her. "I could have gone on longer if there had been more people. I had several girls crying their eyes out today just because they met me. It's unbelievable that I mean so much to them. Like, I'm just an ordinary girl who wrestles for a living."

"Not to them you're not," he said with a little smile. "To them you're an idol, a role model, someone they inspire to be like one day."

"I know. This is so surreal, Seth. It's all happening so fast for me, I feel like I'm not keeping up with it myself." While she was speaking, she had been scrolling through some more of the tweets she was tagged in. One stood out, and she tapped on it. It was from Amy. "This girl was one of the first ones through the door today," she told him, showing him the picture. "She was absolutely in bits at meeting me. That was when it really hit me that I'm those things you just said for people. If I'm a role model, I want to the best one possible. I want to give my time to the fans whenever I can."

Seth gave her a peck on the lips. "Just one reason I love you, muñeca."

"I love you too," she replied softly. Returning her attention to her phone, she opened Amy's profile page and hit the follow button. Then she sent a quick direct message, saying that it had been nice to meet her. "I might not be the best woman WWE have in the ring," she said to Seth. "But I can try my hardest to be the best out of it."


	55. Chapter 55

Arriving for Smackdown, Seth was ready for a confrontation. It had only really dawned on him after the argument he'd had with Zelina that Andrade Almas had done more than provoke the argument by mouthing off about sleeping with her. What he had also essentially done was brand Seth's girlfriend a slut for everyone in the company, since the locker room gossip would have taken literally minutes to spread.

Zelina did not deserve that treatment, and Seth was not going to stand by and see his girl disrespected like that. Almas had totally misrepresented what had happened, and in Seth's mind it had been done deliberately, either out of jealousy or the fact that Zelina hadn't stayed in contact with Andrade while he had been out injured.

"I'm going to get it from Banks tonight," Zelina sighed, walking beside him. She was evidently thinking about the same subject that he was.

"Probably," he grimaced, since honesty was the best policy. "But we know the truth, and so do Sonya and Bay. They will have put in a good word for you with those who were willing to listen. As for those who are determined to judge you and talk you down? Fuck 'em."

"Oh, I agree," she said. "But that doesn't mean I'm looking forward to Sasha mouthing off at me. I like to be positive, yet there's so much negativity around her, at least when it comes to me."

"Just don't hit her," Seth stressed to her, remembering how angry she had been the first time Banks had gotten in her face. "Give her some verbal if you want, but nothing more than that."

"I'm on message," she assured him. "I'm not going to let that bitch derail me from the push I'm getting."

"That's the way, muñeca," he said with a smile as they reached the men's locker room door. "I guess I'll see you in a bit."

"You will," she said, returning his smile warmly. "Love you, Seth."

"Love you." He leaned down and kissed her. It was only brief, and left him wanting more. He stood there for a moment watching her leave, wishing they had an hour to fool around the bus. But sadly not. It was time to go into the locker room and get into it with Almas. It was a man's duty to defend his girl's honour, and Seth was certainly not going to fail to do so.

Unusually, Bobby and Joe had been quicker to get off the bus and sort themselves out than Seth and Zelina, and were therefore in the locker room when Seth entered.

On his way over to his locker, next to those of his two travel buddies, Seth saw that Andrade had already arrived. He was standing by his locker, doing something on his phone.

"I see you clocking Almas," Joe said once Seth reached his locker. "Leave it, man. You don't need to be getting involved in..."

"Joe," Seth cut in to stop him. "What would you do if some asshole came around talking about your wife and deliberately trying to drag her name through the mud? You wouldn't stand for it, and I'm not going to stand for him doing it to Zel."

Joe nodded slightly, acknowledging the truth of the statement. "Just don't punch the guy, tempting though it might be."

Bobby gave Seth an encouraging slap on the back as he started walking over to Almas, who was still engrossed in his phone. He didn't waste time in saying what he had come to say. "That performance last week is the last time you're going to talk shit about Zelina, you hear me?"

Almas lowered his phone and looked at Seth with raised eyebrows, not seeming bothered about the way he had been spoken to. He replied in his pretty poor English. "Talk shit? I talked no shit. I say exactly what happen. Zelina sleep with me and she bounce when I got injured."

"That's seriously misrepresenting it, and you it. She slept with you once, and it was a drunken mistake. It was months before you got hurt, which isn't how you try to make it sound. She regretted what happened and she told you it wouldn't happen again. I think that's what you're bitter about."

Saying nothing for a moment, Almas appeared to weigh up what to say next. He gave the impression that he had thought better of getting into a huge locker room bust up with one of the biggest names in the company on his second night on the main roster. "Whatever," he shrugged. "Keep her. No loss to me."

Satisfied that he had won the argument and sent the necessary message, Seth backed away, deciding to leave a parting shot. "And don't even think about trying to talk to her. She doesn't want anything to do with you after last week, so if you do that, we're going to have a big problem."

Shrugging, Almas did his best to convey indifference.

"Sorted?" Bobby asked when Seth re-joined his friends.

"Yeah. He tried to play it cool, but he got the message."

While that was true, Seth was still a long way from happy. Even if Almas kept his mouth shut from now on, he had already done enough damage.

* * *

Walking out of one of the cubicles in the women's bathroom a little later in the afternoon, Zelina found Sasha Banks leaning back first against the wash basins, waiting for her.

"How did I know this was coming?" Zelina asked dryly.

Sasha straightened herself up, glaring at her. "You've got some nerve, Vega."

"Yeah, I do," she replied confrontationally, standing with her hands on her hips. "Want to make something of it?"

Ignoring the challenge, Sasha snarled, "You stood there a few weeks ago and told me right to my face that I was wrong about you. You got all righteous and aggressive, yet now what do we find out? You were fucking Almas all along, just like I said. I don't like ring rats, Vega."

"Ring rats?" Zelina exclaimed, feeling her blood starting to boil. "I am not a fucking ring rat! I slept with Andrade one time, when we were both drunk. Apparently he got hung up on it, but I didn't. I regretted it, and I told him right there and then that it wouldn't happen again. Now I'm with Seth, and I love him. So don't you dare call me a fucking ring rat!" she screamed in Sasha's face.

Sasha squared up to her and yelled, "Why? What are you going to do about it?"

Before things had the chance to get physical, Nia Jax hurried into the bathroom, apparently having heard the shouting. "Hey, back off, both of you," she instructed, playing peacemaker. "What's going on in here?"

"I'm about to punch her out for calling me a ring rat," Zelina spat, directing the threat to Sasha instead of actually replying to Nia, who stepped in between them.

"Truth hurts, doesn't it?" Sasha fired back.

"Sasha, get out of here," Nia ordered, her tone leaving no room for argument.

"Fine," Sasha snorted, turning and heading for the door. "Don't go telling Hunter, will you? I'm fairly sure she's fucking him, too."

Zelina tried to go after Sasha, but Nia easily held her back just by putting a hand on her shoulder. "Leave it," she said, trying to use her tone as a calming influence.

"I'm going to end up knocking her clean out, Nia," Zelina said heatedly. "That's the second time she's done this. She's getting in my face and talking shit just because she's jealous of my push. Like I actually have any say in it! But she's going around calling me a ring rat because I made a mistake and slept with Andrade once, and now I'm with Seth. I'm not a ring rat. I love Seth, and I..."

"Zelina, stop," Nia pleaded, cringing at the fiery rant she had been subjected to.

After closing her eyes for a second, Zelina sighed. "Sorry. I didn't mean to go off at you. But it's not fair how she's treating me, and I can't kick her ass for it. What am I supposed to do?"

"What you're supposed to do is suck up all that anger you're feeling right now and rise above Sasha's bullshit. That's what you're supposed to do. She's a bully; always has been, always will be. Bayley's probably the only one around here who's never had a problem with her, and I don't even know why that is. Sasha could get into an argument with someone if she was locked in an empty room without a phone."

Zelina had to chuckle at that, almost despite herself. Nothing about what had just happened was a laughing matter.

"I don't know you well, Zelina," Nia went on, "But whenever we've spoken, you've seemed nice. Don't let her drag you down to her level. If she starts giving you shit again, you hold your head up high and walk right past her. Don't give her the satisfaction. That's what I did when she tried it with me when I first got my call up to Raw."

"And what did Sasha do?" Zelina asked, her anger fading now that she was hooked into the conversation. She busied herself with washing and drying her hands while they talked.

"She tried again to provoke me a couple of times, then it just stopped. She probably found someone else to go pick on. Let her do the same with you, Zel."

"Maybe you're right," she admitted. However, she had a feeling that things were already too personal between her and Sasha for it all to go away that easily.

Nia put a hand on Zelina's shoulder again, but this time it was a friendly gesture, ushering her towards the door. "Come on, I think we've stood in the bathroom long enough."

"Weren't you, uh, coming in here?"

"No. I heard you shouting from down the hallway, so I came to see what the fuss was about."

"Oh," Zelina muttered as they walked out into the hallway. She supposed it was a lot better that Nia had been the one to hear the row than if it had been Stephanie McMahon. She and Sasha would have probably been standing in Hunter's office for the riot act by now if that had happened. It was a further warning to listen to Nia's advice and keep her temper under wraps. "Nia?" she said, looking up at the much bigger woman.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks," Zelina said sincerely. "I'll take your advice to heart and do my best to ignore her."

"You're welcome. I have no time for bullies."

With that, they walked the rest of the way to the women's locker room in a friendly silence. As they approached, Zelina saw her new road agent, Sam Monte standing in the hallway talking to Ronda.

"Here she is," Ronda said to Sam, obviously meaning Zelina.

"Hey, Sam," Zelina greeted him warmly as he turned to face her. She gave him a quick hug while Nia headed into the locker room.

"Great to see you, Zel," Sam said. "I came to find you to talk over some of the creative stuff Hunter's just informed me about."

"Let's do it," she agreed easily. She walked a little further along the hallway and hopped onto an equipment case so that she could sit while they talked. She noticed that Ronda had followed her and Sam. "Are we working together again?" she asked her friend.

"In a way," Ronda said with a smile.

"I was just telling her about it," Sam said. "The writers realised that Hunter deciding to put the belt on you gave them a bit of a problem."

"Wait. You said Hunter decided to put the belt on me?"

"Yeah, it was his call." Sam didn't elaborate on that anymore, much as Zelina would have loved more information on exactly what the deal was with management these days. "You being the champion gives them a problem because they wrote that the Renee match was your first ever. That means they've now got the belt on someone who won it fairly and turned face, but at the same time has supposedly only had a handful of matches. They can't just start booking you like a natural now; they've got to carry the narrative on."

That's a new outlook for a start, Zelina thought, saying nothing.

"So, the way they decided to handle it is that you're going to reveal that you are, and have been, training with Ronda."

"Training with Ronda?" Zelina enquired doubtfully. "Why would Ronda's character train mine? We've had two brutal matches against each other."

"That's why," Ronda said, obviously happy with the idea. "They want to play it like we earned each other's respect after those two fights. Pretty much what really did happen," she added with a smile.

Sam took over. "There's a segment on tonight's show where you'll reveal that you've been training with Ronda because you realised you had to up your game if you wanted to keep the Women's Championship."

"Okay," Zelina nodded thoughtfully. "So we can say what? That I picked up how to do some takedowns and submissions from Ronda? Because so far they've only had me working as kind of a brawler with a couple of highflying moves thrown in."

"Exactly," Sam nodded. "This is their way of explaining how you become more of what Hunter termed 'a complete package' in the ring. Also, it allies you with Ronda, who is over as a babyface right now. Putting the two of you together should be good for the reactions you're both getting."

"You okay with this, Ronda?" Zelina asked. Technically the answer didn't matter, since their opinion hadn't been sought, but Zelina still felt it was polite to ask.

"Yeah," Ronda said with another smile. "Who knows, if they really are going to make a Women's Tag Team Championship, we could find ourselves in the running for it in the future if they actually make us a team."

"That would be sick," Zelina said, having involuntarily picked up the use of the word from Bobby. There were rumours of a women's tag team division being created now that the rosters had been pretty much united, but nothing official had been said about it.

"I'm glad you both like it," Sam said. "Before we start going into tonight's show, there's one other thing Hunter wanted me to pass on, Zel. Right now, you only have the Vega-rana for a finish. They want you to start using the ankle lock, too, having learned it from Ronda."

"Even though Ronda's never used it," Zelina added with a little raise of an eyebrow. That was more like the WWE creative they all knew so well.

"True. But I guess they were thinking they couldn't give you the armbar."

"That at least makes sense," Zelina acknowledged. "Right, ankle lock it is. I'm glad I have a submission hold now; it gives a lot more options for finishes."

Ronda said, "Now we get to find out about tonight, since there's basically nothing for our segment on the format."

With the two women listening intently, Sam began to describe what would be required of them on that night's Smackdown episode.


	56. Chapter 56

_Tuesday Night Smackdown – August 28th 2018_

To kick off the third hour of the show, Zelina's new theme, A Queen is Born began to play. She received a warm, yet unspectacular reaction.

It was her second appearance of the night, having opened the show with the rest of The Vega Cartel to address the beat down they had received from Sanity at the end of the previous week's episode.

To avoid what Hunter had described as oversaturation, she would no longer be managing the other cartel members during their matches. She had to admit he had a point; if she handled promo work for the cartel, managed them and worked her own storyline as Women's Champion, she would be in the arena half the night. Fans would soon get annoyed by that.

Walking down the entrance ramp, she made sure to acknowledge the crowd and slap a few of the outstretched hands.

"We're set for tag team action here," Renee Young said on commentary after Greg Hamilton had introduced Zelina. "Last week we saw another lamentable act of cowardice by Bayley and Sonya Deville, who both turned their backs on Vega, giving her a serious beating in the process."

"I don't know how you call that cowardice," Graves objected. "If I walk up to a guy and punch him in the face, you can call me a lot of things, but a coward isn't one of them. The same applies to Bayley and Sonya."

Smackdown's new commentator, Brody Alexander spoke next. As far as Zelina's segments were concerned, his job was to put her over, much like Graves had done when she had been a heel. "It was cowardice of the worst kind," he countered. "Bayley and Deville ambushed Zelina two on one, and Sonya was using that infernal baton of hers. They have absolutely nothing to be proud of."

With Zelina now in the ring, Renee quickly moved on. "Smackdown's general manager, Paige, wanted to make sure Vega had a chance to get revenge here tonight, so she booked a tag team match, pitting Bayley and Sonya Deville against Zelina and a partner."

"Yes, and Sasha Banks put her name forward to be that partner," Alexander said. "I have to say, I'm not sure what to make of that. Sasha is Ms Money in the Bank, and Zelina is the Women's Champion. That's hardly an alliance you would expect to see."

As he was finishing, Sasha's music replaced Zelina's, to quite an ovation. "Well, here comes Sasha Banks," Renee said.

Several moments went by without that statement actually being proven accurate. Greg Hamilton made his announcement regardless. "And her tag team partner, from Boston, Massachusetts, Sasha Banks!"

"Uh, Sasha? Hello?" Renee said while Zelina was shown with her arms spread wide, wanting to know what was going on.

Sasha's music faded out, then after a moment started up again. "We're going to try again here," Alexander said. "Personally, I have a bad feeling about this."

Hamilton also tried again. "And her tag team partner, from Boston, Massachusetts, Sasha Banks!"

There was still no sign of Sasha. "If Vega really thought The Boss was going to come out here and team with her, she's an idiot," Graves said, his past loyalties long forgotten.

Sasha's music faded again, her absence drawing some boos from the fans. That reaction intensified when Sonya Deville's music hit and both of Zelina's opponents walked out onto the stage.

"Here come Bayley and Deville now, but we don't have a partner out here for Zelina," Alexander protested.

"She should have thought about that before she turned her back on everything that made the cartel great," Graves said. "If Vega hadn't done that, she would have Bayley and Sonya standing behind her right now."

"Ready to stick a knife in her back, probably," Renee muttered. "Although one thing I have to admit is that this is a formidable team. Bayley and Sonya are seriously nasty women."

The two heels entered the ring, Sonya looking at Zelina like a hawk circling its prey. She twirled her baton around in her gloved hand, relishing the prospect of getting to use it.

Bayley had walked over to demand a microphone from the ring announcer. "Looks like you're fresh out of friends, Zelina," she said smugly. "But it's your lucky day. I'm going to offer you a simple deal. Everyone's talking about who is going to get the first shot at the WWE Women's Championship. Rightfully, it should be me, since I never lost the Smackdown Women's Championship to start with."

"That's true. No one can argue against that," Graves said.

"So, Zelina, " Bayley said, standing next to Deville, who stared icily at Vega. "The deal is this: Give me a match against you at Hell in a Cell for the Women's Championship, and we won't kick your ass two on one like we did last week."

The fans booed loudly, encouraging Zelina to turn the so-called deal down. She looked uncertain about what to do as Bayley handed her the microphone.

"Don't do it, Zelina," Renee encouraged. "Make Bayley earn the opportunity if she wants it."

Zelina raised the microphone to give her answer. Suddenly, she revealed herself to be ready for a fight, no matter the odds. "Go to hell," she said defiantly, drawing a loud cheer from the crowd as she threw the microphone out of the ring.

"Yes! Tell her, Zelina!" Alexander cried.

"That really wasn't smart," Graves said as Bayley and Deville, both looking furious at the defiance, began to back Zelina into a corner of the ring. Sonya still had the dreaded baton in hand.

Before the inevitable beat down could begin, Bad Reputation began to play, drawing a loud ovation.

"Now what?" Renee exclaimed. "Rowdy Ronda Rousey is coming out here!"

It was true, Ronda came marching down the ramp in her ring attire, with her game face on. Zelina took advantage of the distraction to escape the corner and head over to the entrance side of the ring. Meanwhile, Bayley and Sonya looked panicked by the new arrival.

"Is Ronda going to team with Zelina?" Alexander asked. "We know there's no love lost between Rousey and Deville, that's for sure."

Ronda rolled under the bottom rope and went right after Sonya with left hands, without even bothering to acknowledge Zelina, who headed for their corner. Bayley had fled the ring by the time the referee called for the bell.

"We have a tag team match!" Renee announced. "Vega and Rousey! What a team this could turn out to be!"

* * *

The tag team match itself hadn't been given much time, so Ronda had spent the entirety of it in the ring, becoming isolated thanks to the underhanded tactics of the heel team.

It appeared that might change when she countered an attempted double team move to hit a powerful double clothesline on Bayley and Deville.

"All three women are down now," Renee called. "Rousey might finally be able to get to her corner."

"Look at Zelina, she's begging for a tag," Alexander said as the champion was shown standing on the bottom rope to lean over the top one that little bit further, stretching her arm into the ring.

"Rousey is crawling towards the corner. Can she get there?" Graves asked before his usual biased stance returned. "Stop her, Bayley!"

The former hugger tried to do just that, grabbing hold of Ronda's ankle. But she was able to push off with her other leg and fling herself across the ring, making contact with Zelina's hand.

"Tag made!" Renee called.

With the crowd cheering her on, Zelina rushed into the ring and went after both Bayley and Sonya with fast-paced dropkicks, clotheslines and a couple of unique takedowns that were new to her move set.

"Look at Vega go!" Renee called. "The champion is on fire here! Great takedown on Bayley! I've never seen this kind of technical wrestling from Zelina before."

"Bayley sent over the top rope now," Alexander said.

Vega turned around to focus back on Deville, who was the legal woman, but she was a little too late. Sonya was able to hit a devastating spinebuster. It deflated the fans as effectively as it did Zelina.

"What a spinebuster that was," Graves said. "Vega just about broken in half. Oh, here it comes!"

While Zelina sold pain in her back and struggled to get up, Sonya stood poised to take her head off with the MMA-style kick to the head which served as her finisher.

"If Sonya hits this it's going to be..."

Renee didn't get to finish her sentence because Zelina had risen to her knees, exactly what Sonya had been waiting for. Unfortunately for her, Vega ducked the attempted kick and grabbed her standing leg by the ankle, sending her falling to the canvas. The fall was the least of her problems.

"Oh, Zelina's got an ankle lock on Deville!" Alexander yelled as the fans cheered the surprising move. "Where did that come from?"

Screaming in pain, Sonya desperately reached her hand out, hoping to grab the bottom rope to force a break, but she was nowhere near close enough.

On the outside of the ring, Bayley was up and had seen the situation her partner was in. She rushed under the bottom rope and got up to run over and break the hold. However, before she could get there, Ronda sprinted into the shot and poleaxed her with a running shoulder tackle.

At almost the same time, Sonya had to give in to the pain from her ankle. She pounded the mat hard with her hand, tapping out.

"Deville taps! Deville taps out to Vega!" Alexander called over a loud cheer from the fans.

"Zelina Vega brought some new offense tonight, and it got her the win," Renee said while the champion celebrated the victory with Ronda.

Hamilton began his announcement. "Here are your winners, Ronda..."

He was cut off in full flow. Bayley was shown, having snatched his microphone from him. Sonya was still in the ring, sitting in the corner and holding her ankle.

"I've had enough of this!" Bayley said angrily, getting back into the ring. The fans booed her as Zelina's music quickly stopped playing. "I've had enough! I want a shot at that!" she demanded, pointing at the title belt that the referee had given back to Zelina.

Bayley was surprised when Sonya, having gotten back up, took the microphone from her. "I want a shot at it too."

"I don't think Bayley and Deville realise they just got beat," Renee said dryly.

Zelina walked over to the commentary table side of the ring and a microphone was handed to her. "I don't know if you two realise it, since you're not exactly the two brightest stars in the galaxy, but I don't make the matches around here. And even if I did, I'd be much more inclined to give the first shot at my Women's Championship to Ronda, as a thank you for the training she's given me over the past week."

"Training? Rousey has been training Vega, after the matches they had against each other?" Graves queried over the top of some cheers.

The explanation he wanted soon arrived as Ronda asked for Zelina's microphone and was duly given it. "You see, Zelina and I faced each other twice, and on both occasions, she impressed me. Zelina didn't ask you, Sonya, to interfere in the lion's den match; she was fighting me one on one. And she fought me one on one again in the empty arena match, where we beat the living hell out of each other."

Zelina leaned in and humorously added, "And you flushed my head down a toilet."

"I did do that," Ronda grinned while some of the fans laughed. "But what happened in those two fights – because that's what they were – is that Zelina and I found respect for each other. So, yes, I have been training her, and will continue to for the next few weeks." She paused and looked at Zelina. "Then I propose that we go at it one more time at Hell in a Cell, where the winner will leave with the WWE Women's Championship."

The crowd cheered that idea while Bayley and Sonya were shown telling each other how much they disagreed with the suggestion.

"Rousey also wants Vega at Hell in a Cell," Renee said. "This is really getting interesting now."

Sasha Banks' music hit for the third time. On this occasion, she actually walked out into the arena. She was cheered despite not fulfilling her commitment to Zelina in the tag team match.

"Now what?" Graves exclaimed.

"Now Banks comes out here," Alexander said theatrically. "There you see the Money in the Bank briefcase, but I don't think Sasha's coming out to cash in."

Sasha had a microphone in her other hand, and started speaking on her way down the ramp. Holding up her briefcase, she said, "Just because I have this, don't forget about The Boss when it comes to Hell in a Cell. If there's any discussion to be had about who gets the first shot at you, Zelina, Sasha Banks should be at the top of the list." During her speech, she had entered the ring, and now stood facing Vega.

"Where Sasha Banks should have been was out here about ten minutes ago," Zelina said acidly. "You were supposed to be my partner. Where were you?"

"I was back there, hoping you'd get your ass kicked so that I could come out and cash in on you," Sasha replied frankly.

Before that argument could continue any further, Alexa Bliss's music started to play.

"Alexa Bliss is coming out now," Renee said, her tone indicating that things were starting to get ridiculous. "A reminder that under the new rules agreed between Bad News Barrett and Shane McMahon, women signed to Raw are eligible to appear on Smackdown while one of our people is the champion."

"Alexa Bliss was the person Vega pinned to win the championship scramble at Summerslam," Graves recalled. "I'd make a bet Alexa wants to avenge that fact."

Following Sasha's example, Alexa started speaking on her way to the ring. "I don't know if you've all forgotten," she said to the group in the ring, "but women signed to Raw are also eligible to compete for the Women's Championship; the Women's Championship that I had won at Summerslam before Zelina Vega stole it from me with five seconds remaining." She entered the ring and proclaimed, "If anyone should get the first shot at Hell in a Cell, it's the one true goddess of WWE, Alexa Bliss!"

Zelina was shown talking to Ronda, shaking her head, obviously saying that the situation was getting out of control at this point. It was about to get worse.

Nia Jax's music was next to play. By now, the fans were cheering each new arrival, enjoying the crazy nature of what was going on.

"Why don't we just get the whole women's roster down here?" Renee asked.

"It's all well and good all of these ladies coming to the ring and making demands, but we're no closer to a decision about who's going to face Vega," Alexander said.

Nia entered the ring and simply said, "I'm done being held back. I want my title shot."

"Ladies, I'm afraid I've got some bad news!" The fans cheered the arrival of Smackdown commissioner Bad News Barrett as he walked onto the stage. Everyone in the ring immediately had their attention on him.

"Finally, we might get some order restored and a decision made about Hell in a Cell," Renee said.

Once the cheering subsided, Barrett continued. "The bad news I have for you is that I won't be giving a title match at Hell in a Cell to anyone in that ring." That produced negative reactions from everyone apart from Zelina. "While the Women's Championship resides on Tuesday Night Smackdown, opportunities are going to have to be earned, not awarded."

"Okay, so what is he saying?" Graves asked.

"Uncharacteristically, I do have some good news," Barrett said with a smile. "All of you will get the chance to earn your way to Hell in a Cell, as will several others who aren't out here with us right now. I'm talking about people like Carmella, Nikki Cross, Naomi, just to name a few. I am now announcing that a tournament will be held over the next several weeks, with women from Smackdown and Raw being eligible to compete. The tournament will whittle us down to four women, who will then compete in a fatal five way Hell in a Cell match for the WWE Women's Championship."

"A what?" Renee asked incredulously as the crowd went wild.

Zelina's face had dropped at that announcement. Getting through that kind of match with her title intact was going to be a very tall order.

"A fatal five way Hell in a Cell match!" Graves repeated. "That's incredible. I can't wait to see who's going to be in it."

"The fifth person in the match will of course be the champion, Zelina Vega," Barrett clarified unnecessarily. "The draw for the first round of the qualifying tournament will be made live on the WWE Network immediately following Smackdown. So, everyone who wants a shot at Zelina, your fate is in your own hands."

That brought the segment to an end. "The bad news era continues not to go the way of Zelina Vega," Renee said as Barrett's music played and he left the stage. "Vega will defend her WWE Women's Championship against four other women at Hell in a Cell!"

"Not just at Hell in a Cell," Alexander said. "Zelina will be defending  _in_  the cell!"

To finish the segment, Graves said, "Start enjoying your days as champion, Vega, because they're numbered."


	57. Chapter 57

"Thanks, man. Have a good one," Seth said to the Uber driver who had just dropped him and Zelina off outside their house.

"Two days at home," Zelina said with a contended sigh. She took her case and led the way up the driveway.

Following along behind, Seth had a smile on his face. "And no plans to do anything. Sounds perfect to me."

"R and R, and TLC. My favourite things," she said, looking back at him with a smile of her own.

It was their first time back home since the argument they'd had over Zelina sleeping with Andrade Almas. Feeling bad over his part in the falling out, Seth was glad that they had the chance of some time to spend just the two of them. The lack of time to do that was one of the very few downsides of traveling on the tour bus so much.

Since they had reconciled the argument, it had felt like there was a renewed energy and passion in their relationship, not that it had ever been lacking before. Seth figured that being confronted by what they might have lost had been a wakeup call for both of them, and had resulted in them growing even closer. For that reason, he had a special gesture in mind. That was for later, though.

Zelina unlocked and opened the front door. "Look at all this stuff," she said, bending down to pick up a stack of mail that had been delivered while they were on the road. "I still think it's weird we don't have a mailbox," she commented.

"It's probably all bills anyway," he said. After closing the door behind them, he moved both of their cases to the bottom of the stairs, ready to be carried up whenever he went up there.

"Oh, there's something for me," she said in surprise, setting the other envelopes on their small hallway table. She opened the envelope addressed to her and unfolded the single sheet of paper that was inside. "Oh," she said quietly, her face dropping.

"What is it, muñeca?" Seth asked with some concern.

"It's the date for David's trial," she said, handing him the letter. "It starts November 5th. I don't know what to think."

Seth embraced her, realising that she needed love from him in that moment. "Think about the fact that you're going to make sure the son of a bitch goes away for thirty years. He's never going to do anything to you or anyone else ever again."

"I know that," she said quietly. "But I have to relive everything in front of a jury, and I have to be cross examined. I'm dreading that, Seth. I don't know how, but they're somehow going to try and get him off with it by discrediting my story."

"They will," Seth admitted, wanting to be honest with her. "But with his past conviction for violent rape, the evidence the cops would have documented from your house, and your testimony, there's surely no way he can be found not guilty. It won't be easy at all, but you can get through it, babe. I know you can. You're strong enough to do it."

Zelina took a deep breath. "I know. I'm determined to get through it, I just didn't expect to see that when I walked in the house. It feels more real now that we have a date."

"Look at it this way: Three months from now, it'll all be over and that piece of shit will be rotting in a cage where he belongs."

"Yeah, I'll keep focusing on that," she said, looking up at him with a weak smile.

They were both startled by someone knocking on the front door. "Christ, that made me jump," Seth said.

"Who is it?" Zelina wondered as Seth went over to the door.

Opening it up, he saw the elderly woman who lived next door to them. She was standing there with a large cardboard-wrapped package in her hands.

She was a nice enough old girl, even if she did spend a lot of her time looking out of her windows to mind other people's business. Her husband held barbeques in the summer which were legendary on their street, since pretty much everyone was invited. Seth found himself wondering when the next one would be, and if he and Zelina would be home for it. Then he realised that it wouldn't matter to her, since vegan barbeque food was hardly likely to be a thing. "Oh, hi, Sara," he said pleasantly.

"Hello, Seth. I just saw you arrive. Ernie signed for this for you earlier." She handed the package to him.

"Thanks a lot," he said, inspecting the package. He noticed that the sender's address was WWE's office in Stamford, which gave him a fair idea of what was inside, especially since it was addressed to Zelina.

"Ernie's having a barbecue next Tuesday night. I guess you won't be here though, right?"

"Afraid not," Seth grimaced. "I wish we were. Give him my best, will you?"

"I will," Sara said with a smile.

"Thanks for this," he said, looking at the package before she turned to leave.

"You're welcome."

With that, Seth closed the door and turned to face Zelina, who had lingered out of sight. "Something here for you," he said, handing her the package.

She took it from him and eyed up the packaging. "For me? I hope it's something better than that letter. Oh, it's from WWE. I know what this is going to be!" she exclaimed, her spirits brightening quickly.

"Open it up," Seth encouraged.

Carefully, Zelina removed the tape that was sealing the cardboard packaging and pulled the end open. There was a lot of bubble wrap inside to protect the item that had been sent to her. "Can you hold the box?" she asked.

Seth did as she asked so that she could more easily slide the bubble wrapped item out of its cardboard container. "I'd better put it down somewhere before I open it," she said, walking along the hallway towards the dining room. Once in there, she put the item down on the table and set about opening up the bubble wrap.

"I knew that's what it would be," Seth said after the item had been revealed.

It was a plaque featuring a picture of the eight women who had competed in the championship scramble match at Summerslam, standing together in front of the ring. The picture was signed by all eight of them. There was a short piece of writing underneath to commemorate the match, along with the Summerslam and WWE logos, and a picture of the new Women's Championship belt.

"Oh, Seth, it's beautiful," she said, looking at it in wonder.

"Yeah, it really is," he smiled, putting an arm around her shoulders. "They always do a great job with these things. This is your first of many, I'm sure."

She looked up at him and smiled sweetly. "Thanks, baby. I can always hope, right?"

"Shall we go put it up?" he offered.

"Can we?" she asked happily. "What do you even hang it with? I don't know anything about DIY."

"I just need to put an anchor in the wall, then a big ass screw in that. The plaque will hang from that. I'll need to drill a hole for the anchor, so let me go get my tools."

"Alright. I'll take the cases upstairs while you do that."

"No, leave them. I'll do it."

"Okay," she said, a little surprised by his insistence.

Seth couldn't let her take his case upstairs. There was something in there that he needed, having decided that when he had finished putting the plaque up for her would be the perfect moment for it. "Why don't you take the plaque up to the games room and pick out the spot where you'd like it to go?" he suggested after giving her a peck on the lips.

"I think I've already decided, but I'll go up and make sure."

Seth followed her out of the room, where they headed in opposite directions. Zelina went upstairs, while he went through to the utility room to get the things he needed to put the plaque up for her.

A couple of minutes later, with a tape measure, a wall anchor and a screw in his pocket and a drill and screwdriver in hand, he went back through the house to head upstairs. At the bottom of the stairs, he stopped to remove something that he had carefully hidden in his case. That had been the easy part; the real struggle had been buying it without Zelina knowing about it.

"Just so you know, I'm expecting a top quality dinner in return for this," he called out cheekily on his way up the stairs.

Her voice came back from the games room. "Oh, that's how it is? You put a screw in the wall, I cook a dinner? Doesn't sound fair to me."

Seth laughed as he walked into the games room to join her. "Or you could put the plaque up and I'll make the dinner?"

"You know I don't do DIY!" she protested, giggling at him.

"Better get cooking then," he grinned, before getting more serious. "Where would you like me to put it?"

"I think on this wall," she said, pointing to the right hand side of the room. That wall was currently completely bare, since they hadn't gotten around to adding any pictures to finish the fresh decorating job. "If I get any more memorabilia, I can have it on there as well and make a little collection, like you have downstairs."

"Alright, how about I put it right in the middle, and we can build out from there when you get other items to add to the collection?"

Zelina smiled happily. "That's a great idea. I love it."

"Decision made, then. Let me quickly measure out the right spot. Can you go get an old towel or something to put on the floor? There's going to be a lot of masonry dust, and we don't want that getting on the carpet."

"Okay." Zelina quickly went and found an old towel as he had requested. By the time she returned, Seth had marked the spot where he needed to drill the hole.

"Just drop it down there, please," he said.

Zelina arranged the towel on the floor to catch any dust. "That okay?" she asked.

"Yep." Seth drilled a hole in the wall to the required depth, sending some nasty-looking red dust falling onto the towel.

"Eww, you were right about that stuff," Zelina said once the drill had powered down.

"We can just throw the towel out when we're done," he said, taking the wall anchor out of his pocket. He slotted it into the hole, and it fitted perfectly. "Now I just need to screw this in," he said as he began to fix the screw into the anchor. "And we're done," he announced a moment later.

Zelina looked at his handiwork. "Ah, I see now. We hood the chord thing on the back of the plaque over the end of the screw."

"Exactly." Seth picked up the plaque and did exactly that, carefully making sure that it was hanging perfectly centred. "How's that?" he asked, standing back to have a look for himself.

Standing next to him, Zelina smiled once more. "It looks fantastic. I'm so proud of it. Thank you for putting it up straight away for me."

"You're welcome."

"I'm so happy right now," she added. "Honestly, I don't think I could be happier."

Seth took that as the perfect cue. "Hmmm. I think maybe you could," he said, discreetly putting a hand in his pocket.

"Huh?" she asked, turning to look at him. Seeing that he had a ring case in his hand made her freeze in place for a moment.

Seth popped the case open to reveal a silver ring with a small diamond on top. "I bought you this, muñeca. It's a promise ring."

"Oh, Seth," she gasped, looking at it in shock. "A promise ring?"

"Yeah. It's a symbol of my commitment to you, and it says that one day we'll get engaged, and then, well..."

"Married," she finished, looking lovingly into his eyes. "Seth, this is so lovely. I don't know what to say."

"Try it on. Hopefully it'll fit on your wedding finger, if that's the right name for it." She took the ring out of the box and looked at it as he continued. "I had to have the assistant in the store make an educated guess at the size. But they can adjust it if they need to; we'd just need to take it into one of their stores."

Zelina slipped the ring onto the correct finger and found that it fitted almost perfectly. "It fits," she said happily. "I have a promise ring. Seth, I'm lost for words. I love you so much. I can't believe I was lucky enough to find you."

He spread his arms to offer a hug and she walked into them. After kissing her on the lips, he said, "I'm the lucky one, Zelina. You complete me like I never thought anyone could. I love you, and I want to spend my life with you."

Stretching up, Zelina kissed him. "You will. We'll spend our lives together. We'll be one of those old couples that lives together for fifty or sixty years."

"If not more," he agreed.

"I can't wait to tell my family and friends. Bay is going to totally lose it, you know she will."

"She will. But I think there's something we should do first." His tone more than adequately conveyed what he was thinking.

"Carry me," Zelina breathed, hopping up and allowing him to get his arms underneath her. She wrapped her arms around him for extra support, and he carried her through to the bedroom.


	58. Chapter 58

Wednesday night was a free one for the cartel group. They had decided to take advantage of the fact by going to a bar local to the secure parking lot where Elena had parked the tour bus for the night.

"Yeah, this'll do for us," Joe said as he led the group into the bar.

Zelina was the next one to walk in. Her first impression matched Joe's. The place wasn't a shit hole like some bars could be. In fact, it looked quite pleasant. The decoration and furniture were obviously fairly new, albeit in a rustic style. Another bonus was that there were not a great many other customers in. Sometimes bars could be too noisy to make conversation easy, and she didn't like that.

While everyone filed in through the door, Zelina discreetly slipped her promise ring onto her finger. She hadn't worn it since she and Seth had re-joined the group because they had agreed to wait for what felt like an opportune moment to tell them. On the way to the bar, she had told Seth that she had the ring in her pocket and wanted to tell everyone about it, and he had agreed.

"Hey, look, they have a pool table," Bobby said. "I know what we're doing tonight."

"We can only play pool two at a time, though, that's the only problem," Seth said.

"Not with the game I've got in mind. Let's get some drinks in, then I'll explain."

"This is going to involve money, isn't it?" Elena asked, rolling her eyes.

"Of course it is," Bobby grinned. "Who knows, you might even win some for a change," he added cheekily.

"Can I start the night by hitting him?" Elena asked the rest of the group.

"Please do," Seth said with a chuckle as he walked up to the bar. He ordered the first round of drinks after asking everyone what they wanted, then they walked over to the pool table, which was thankfully not being used by anyone else.

"Okay then, Bobby, what's this game you've got in mind?" Joe asked.

"It's really simple. Twenty bucks gets you in, and you get two lives. All you have to do is make a ball when it's your turn to take a shot. If you miss or sink the cue ball, you lose a life. The last person remaining wins the money. But, you have to make a ball to win. If you miss, everyone is back in the game with one life."

Zelina nodded her approval. "I can't shoot pool to save my life, but I'm in."

"Get your money out then," Bobby said, slapping a twenty of his own down on the side of the pool table.

They all got their cash out and added their own twenty dollars bills to the collection. Once they were all there, Elena picked them up. "I'll look after this," she said, looking at Joe and Bobby. "I'm not going to trust these shit bags."

That made everyone laugh, especially Bobby. The fact that she even knew the term shit bag made it seem funnier.

"We're the most trustworthy guys out there," Bobby said theatrically, with a big grin on his face.

"Yeah, right. Look at that grin," Seth laughed.

Smiling, Bobby walked over to a chalk board that was fixed to the wall near the pool table and started writing their names on it, putting two vertical lines next to each name to symbolise the two lives they had in the game.

As the chatter continued among the group, Joe started setting up the pool balls on the table and Zelina gently nudged Seth in the side. When he looked at her, she carefully showed him that she had the promise ring on her finger.

"It looks beautiful on you, muñeca," he said quietly, giving her a quick peck on the forehead.

"Okay," Bobby announced, having finished chalking the list of names onto the board. He had written them in alphabetical order. "Bay, looks like it's ladies first. The good news is you don't have to make a ball on the break off. You break, then you have your first real shot."

"Got it," Bayley said, taking one of the two cues that were available.

Watching her friend apply some chalk to the end of the cue, Zelina found herself hoping that Bayley was good at pool, despite her own competitive nature. It was about time they played something that Bay was good at, since she always seemed to lose at everything.

"I can see Bay being something of a pool shark," Joe said supportively as she got down to take the break off shot.

"I have played a bit," she admitted, before slamming the cue ball hard down the table, sending the pack flying around the table. No balls went into a pocket, but that didn't matter since she had another shot to take. She had been left with an easy shot into a middle pocket, which she quickly got down and made.

"Nice," Elena said happily, getting a smile in return from her girlfriend.

The cue ball had finished up stuck between one of the object balls and close to the rail, leaving Bobby, who was next, with no shot on anything. "Thanks, Bay. Leave me in the shit, why don't you?" he said, feigning annoyance.

"Just smash them," Zelina said.

"Not much other choice," he agreed, getting down for his shot. He hit the ball he was stuck behind as hard as he could, sending it crashing around the table into multiple other balls. As a result of the chaos, a ball rolled into one of the top corner pockets.

"Lucky bastard," Seth said.

"That's just how it's done," Bobby said smugly.

Daga was the next name on the board. Bayley had already handed her girl the cue she had used. "Now time to show you how Italians shoot pool, yes?" she said confidently after downing some of the one beer she had allowed herself for the night.

"Badly. That's my guess," Joe said, grinning at his own attempt to needle her.

Playing along, Elena glared at him as she stepped up to the table.

"Look at that face," Seth said with a laugh. "She's going to murder you, dude."

The easiest shot Elena had on offer was the full length of the table, but the object ball was close to a top corner pocket. She got down and knocked it in with ease.

"Didn't even touch the sides," Bobby said, impressed. "Now it's you, Joe."

There was nothing easy on offer for the big guy. Even so, he made a ball into a middle pocket. Unfortunately for him, the cue ball was left rolling straight towards one of the bottom corner pockets. Bobby, Seth and Zelina all cheered it along its way to its inevitable demise.

"That's a life off," Bobby said once the cue ball dropped into the pocket.

"That's bull, man," Joe complained good-naturedly.

"Nah, you just ran out of talent," Seth said, taking the cue from him since he was next up.

"Right. Let's see you make something," Joe said, noticing that there was still nothing particularly tempting available.

Seth placed the cue ball at the top end of the table, giving himself the best angle for a shot into one of the bottom corner pockets. He almost made it; the ball rattling the jaws of the pocket before rolling back up the table.

"Damn, that's unlucky," Zelina said sympathetically, taking the cue from him while Bobby rubbed one of his lives off the board.

Now that it was Zelina's turn, her past competitive nature and borderline arrogance she sometimes showed in victory worked against her.

"Now this is the one I've been waiting for," Bobby said. He made a praying gesture with his hands. "Please let her miss. I'll do anything you want, so long as she misses."

Joe laughed. "Of course she'll miss. She even said herself she can't shoot pool, so she must be fucking awful."

"Thanks, guys," Zelina said dryly, appraising the table. She had been left with a fairly simple shot into a middle pocket, but she didn't feel confident about it. However, she expected that once she got down to play the shot, someone would notice the ring on her finger, and the game would suddenly be the last thing on their minds.

She leaned over the table and lined up the shot, and sure enough it only took a few seconds before Bayley exclaimed, "Wait, what's that?"

"What's what?" Zelina asked, innocent as could be.

"What do you mean 'what's what?' The ring!"

"It's a promise ring," Seth informed them before they had the chance to get the wrong idea about an actual engagement.

"Oh, Zel, let me see," Elena said, walking around the table to her, with Bayley not far behind.

"So, you're like, getting engaged at some point? That's what it means, right?" Bobby asked.

"It's a commitment that one day we will get engaged, yeah," Seth said.

Elena took Zelina's hand and studied the ring. "It's wonderful. That's a diamond, yes?"

"Yeah," Zelina smiled as Bayley also admired the ring.

"We have something to celebrate," Joe said. "The next round is on me, guys. Same again for everyone?"

"Coke for me, please," Elena said as everyone else said they wanted the same as the first round.

"Did you get this today?" Bayley asked Zelina, still looking at the ring.

"No. He gave it to me the other day, just after we got home."

"Tell us how it happened," Bayley encouraged excitedly.

"Well, my plaque for the Summerslam match had arrived. Seth put it up for me in our games room, and I said something about thinking I couldn't be any happier. He said he thought maybe I could, then when I turned around to see what he was talking about, he was holding the ring case in his hand."

"That's so sweet," Elena gushed, showing a surprising romantic side. "Seth, I didn't know you had it in you."

He chuckled. "What makes you say that?"

"I don't know. You don't seem like a romantic gesture guy, I guess."

"That's more your kind of thing, Daga, right?" Bayley said with an adorable little grin that made Zelina feel gooey inside She found them to be such a sweet couple.

"I, uh…" Elena faltered, blushing bright red.

Seth laughed loudly. "Holy shit, Daga is speechless. I never thought we'd see the day. Don't worry, there's nothing embarrassing about treating your girl well."

Bobby had gone up to the bar to help Joe with the drinks, but he had evidently been able to hear the conversation. He walked back over with a grin on his face. "I was going to make a toast to Seth and Zelina, but I think we should drink to speechless Daga instead. I think that's a much more momentous occasion to celebrate."

Ignoring the teasing, Elena got serious. "No, we should toast Seth and Zel. I'm very happy for them."

"Yeah, me too," Bayley said, accepting what for her was a rare second beer from Joe, who had just come back to the table.

"To Seth and Zel. We're all glad you're so happy together," the big guy said seriously, raising his beer bottle.

Everyone apart from Seth and Zelina echoed the toast with genuine feeling, then they all drank. "Thanks, guys," Zelina said, feeling the love from all of them, even with most of the conversation consisting of banter, as was often the case.

Bobby made sure that normal service quickly resumed. "Now take your shot before I take a life off you."

"And don't think we're not still hoping you'll miss, either," Joe added.

Getting down to line up the shot to the middle pocket for the second time, Zelina tried her best to ignore the two big kids, who started building up to a cheer in the way that fans used to for the last of Daniel Bryan's Yes kicks. She played the shot and the object ball hit the near jaw, the miss drawing loud cheers from both Bobby and Joe.

"Ooops, that's a life off Zelina," Bobby took great pleasure in saying.

Trying not to look as annoyed as she felt, Zelina handed the cue to Bayley and walked back over to Seth.

"That's a real walk of shame," Joe chirped at her.

To avoid rising to the bait, Zelina focused her mind on an idea that she had been mulling over for most of the day. In part, it related to Hunter's instruction for her to interact with fans in a positive way as much as possible to assist with getting her over as a babyface. But it also involved potentially raising a lot of money for charity. "Hey, Seth, I've been considering an idea all day. I don't know if Hunter would go for it, though."

Seth finished off his first beer and set the empty bottle on the table where Joe had put a couple of fresh ones. He picked up his next bottle and said, "What idea, babe?"

"Well, I was thinking about things I could do to get a lot of fan interaction going. Then I found myself wondering if I might also be able to do something to raise money for Connor's Cure because I think that's a great cause."

"It is," he nodded, urging her to go on.

"So, I was trying to come up with something I could do that would combine both of those things. What I came up with was doing a live stream of me playing poker, with a big ass donation button on the screen and something to show the amount that's been raised. Everything anyone donated would go straight to Connor's Cure, as would anything I won from the poker itself."

"That's a really cool idea," Seth said thoughtfully. "The only thing is, do we really see wrestling fans wanting to watch poker?"

"I thought about that, and I figured it wouldn't really matter to most people. They get to show up and interact with me in the chat, regardless of what I'm actually playing. A lot of people watch live streams for the streamer as much as the game they're playing. Let's be honest, that would certainly be true in my case. Loads of people would come out, and hopefully a lot of them would contribute a couple of bucks or something. If they did, we're talking serious money."

"Sorry, Zel, what are you talking about?" Bayley enquired, having heard the back end of what she had been saying after taking her second shot and sinking a ball.

Zelina outlined her plan for the second time. "Do you think Hunter would go for it?" she asked them both.

"I really don't know," Seth admitted. "Obviously the charity aspect is good, but I don't know how he would feel about having you live streaming, or if he would have a problem with you playing poker."

"I guess I could lose the poker part of it if I had to, but it's an easy game to play while keeping up interaction with people."

"I've got an idea," Bayley said. "You could have something like if someone donates twenty bucks, their message comes up on the screen, and you'll read it out and respond to what they said."

Zelina nodded. "I like it, but you know what people are like; someone would be bound to pay twenty bucks to have something obscene come up."

"You'd need someone to moderate for you," Bayley said, revealing that she had some knowhow on the subject. "They could filter the questions for you and cut anything like that. And you could go with a higher amount if you wanted to, to cut down on the risk."

"I could ask Dan to moderate for me," Zelina said, voicing the idea as she had it. "He's a good friend of mine," she explained to Bayley. "I know he knows his way around a computer, so he might know what he was doing. I'm sure he would help me out for a few hours for charity."

"Well, there you go then," Seth said with a smile. "So long as you can get it past Hunter, I think it's a great idea. I think it could raise serious money too, which might swing it in your favour."

Zelina nodded slowly, taking in what he had to say. "I'll talk to him about it when I see him next."

Half an hour later, the one hundred and twenty dollars hung in the balance. Joe had just missed a shot, leaving Bayley, who had greatly surprised everyone with her ability to shoot pool, with the chance to win. All she had to do was make a ball.

"The pressure's on," Seth grinned, seeing that she had nothing simple to go at. To add to the difficulty, the cue ball had finished close to the top rail.

"If you miss, we're all back in," Bobby reminded her.

"Come on, Bay," Elena said, looking like she could barely make herself watch.

Everyone had the good grace to stay quiet when Bayley got down to line up a shot on a ball that was close to the middle of the table, into the bottom right pocket.

Zelina felt Seth squeeze her hand. He wanted Bayley to win as much as she did.

Bayley took the shot, and made the ball off one of the pocket's jaws.

"Yes!" Elena shouted happily, rushing over to hug her girl while the others cheered and applauded.

Bayley and Daga shared a delighted hug and a kiss. "You were amazing," Elena said.

"Thank you, angel," Bayley said, melting everyone's hearts on the spot.

In turn, everyone stepped forward to congratulate Bayley on her victory, then, with a delighted smile on her face, she took the money from Elena and held it up to celebrate. "Next round on me," she proclaimed, drawing a cheer of agreement from the group.


	59. Chapter 59

_WWE Hell in a Cell – September 16th 2018_

The fatal five way Hell in a Cell match for the WWE Women's Championship was second on the card. After a video package to recap the build-up, the arena was shown with the cell already lowered around the ring.

Bad Reputation was the first piece of theme music to play, bringing the fans to their feet. As had been the case at Summerslam, there was great speculation among the wrestling community that this was going to be the night where Ronda Rousey finally got her hands on WWE gold. Most people were surprised that it hadn't happened before now, given the obvious star power she had.

"First to enter the cell will be Ronda Rousey," Renee Young said on commentary. "Last week on Smackdown, guys, battle lines seemed to be drawn between the five women in this match. We saw Ronda come to the aid of Zelina Vega, the Women's Champion, who was being taken apart by Alexa Bliss, Nikki Cross and Bayley."

"I was surprised to see that, quite frankly," Corey Graves said. "If I was Ronda, I would have been happy to see one of my opponents being destroyed. It would have made things easier tonight."

"Thankfully, Ronda has more character and loyalty than you do, Corey," Brody Alexander said. "As you well know, Zelina came down to save Ronda from a similar attack the previous week."

"Well, they're not going to be able to act all friendly with each other tonight; it's every woman for themselves," Graves said.

"I don't know if Rousey and Vega are friends," Renee said. "But there is definitely respect between the two. As we know, Zelina had been training with Ronda this past month, and we've seen her elevate her game as a result. It's for that reason that I give Zelina a fighting chance of retaining her title here tonight."

"She has a chance," Graves acknowledged. "A one in five chance, and that's at best."

Ronda was in the ring, limbering up, ready for the intense battle that would soon commence. Her music faded out, to be replaced by the theme that was now shared by Sonya Deville and Bayley. Boos rained down from the crowd.

"Here comes a thoroughly miserable human being," Renee said with distaste. "We've seen the rest of The Vega Cartel change their ways for the better over the past month, but Bayley wanted no part of that. She turned her back on Zelina and the cartel, and instead allied herself with another classless, vile woman, Sonya Deville. Brody, they've been on something of a reign of terror recently."

"Yes they have," Alexander agreed unhappily. "Personally, I'm grateful that Deville lost her qualifying match, otherwise there would have been two people in the cell working towards the goal of making Bayley the Women's Champion."

"I don't know how you can say that," Graves protested. "Sonya openly said she wanted the title for herself."

"Deville is nothing but a mercenary," Renee said, still speaking with obvious distaste. "If Bayley offered her enough money, she would help her over her own title ambitions. I don't doubt that for a minute."

Bayley approached the door to the cell. Looking up at the structure, and noting Ronda waiting in the middle of the ring with a particularly scary expression on her face, she waved off the idea of entering the cell and walked off to the side instead. The fans were on her back right away, booing her cowardice intensely.

Sanity's music was next to play. Nikki Cross came running out into the arena, looking like a total basket case as always. "Nikki Cross, set for her first pay-per-view match as a part of the Smackdown roster," Renee said. "She might not have all her dogs barking, but she's a very dangerous woman."

"I agree," Graves said. "I said it last week, and I'll say it again: Nikki Cross is my pick to win here tonight. You can always expect the unexpected when Cross in involved, and inside Hell in a Cell, that's a scary prospect for the other four women."

Cross was already in the ring. While she ran around it, she was careful not to go near Ronda. Even she wasn't that crazy.

Alexa Bliss, the only woman from Raw to have qualified, was the next to enter. "Our fourth entrant is Alexa Bliss," Alexander said. "Guys, Alexa is not to be underestimated. If she wins tonight, she will become the first to complete the grand slam of holding the NXT Women's Championship, the former Raw Women's Championship, the former Smackdown Women's Championship and the new WWE Women's Championship. There's no way you can argue against someone with that kind of pedigree, whether you like the way she goes about her business or not."

"Alexa is the goddess of WWE," Graves said. "If the Women's Championship has to go to someone from Raw, I'd want it to be Little Miss Bliss. And it's definitely possible that will happen."

On her way into the cell, Bliss cast a wary glance at Bayley, who was still lingering outside the cell, refusing to enter it.

As champion, Zelina had the honour of entering last. Her music hit to a generous ovation, albeit not as loud as the one Ronda had gotten. "And here comes the champion," Renee said, hyping Zelina up. "Zelina Vega, set for her first title defence, and what a task she has on her hands if she wants to emerge victorious. She really needs to win, because we've already seen Eric Young and Alexander Wolfe defeat Bobby Roode and Samoa Joe for the Smackdown Tag Team Championships in tonight's opening match. If Vega loses her title as well, it'll be an unmitigated disaster for the cartel."

Taking her title belt off from around her waist on the way towards the cell, Zelina looked fired up and ready to fight. However, she didn't enter the cell. Taking Bayley by surprise, she ran at her and smashed her in the head with the belt, drawing a thunderous reaction from the fans.

"Oh! Zelina blasted Bayley with the title belt! Look at Vega going after Bayley on the outside of the cell!" Renee cried as Zelina pounded her former underling with right hands.

In the ring, Ronda had made the mistake of looking at what was going on outside the cell. Nikki and Alexa both spotted that, and made the most of it by rushing her.

"Bliss and Cross attacking Rousey now!" Alexander called. "All five women are fighting, but the referee can't start the match! They all need to be inside the cell with the door locked before we can officially get underway."

Zelina rectified that problem by hauling Bayley up and dragging her through the door into the cell, proceeding to whip her into the ring steps.

Seizing the opportunity to seal the competitors in the cell, the referee on the outside quickly slammed the door shut and secured it with a chain and a padlock. With that done, the referee in the ring called for the bell.

"Now we're underway in the fatal five way match!" Renee called. "The first woman to gain a pinfall or submission will leave with the WWE Women's Championship."

Over the next ten minutes, the action unfolded pretty much the way it had been expected to, with the heels mostly fighting the faces.

Eventually, Zelina found herself isolated in the ring with Bayley and Alexa taking turns to hit her with moves, while Ronda and Nikki were fighting outside the ring. Cross slammed Rousey hard into the cell back first.

"Rousey into the steel cell, and she's down," Alexander said. "What's Nikki Cross doing now?"

Nikki had walked over to the ring steps, which had been displaced earlier when Bayley had been sent into them by Zelina. Cross picked up the top half of the steps and brandished them like a battering ram, eyeing up Rousey, who was trying to get to her feet in the corner of the cell.

"Ronda, watch out!" Renee called as Nikki ran at her, intending to crush her with the steps.

The groggy Ronda somehow dived out of the way at the last moment, leaving Nikki to crash into the cell with steps. The impact caused a loud crash, and some of the wire mesh broke away from the cell's framework, to the delight of the fans, who erupted at the prospect of the women breaking out of their confinement. Reacting to the cheering, Cross looked around at the crowd with a wild look in her eyes.

"What is Nikki Cross thinking here?" Graves wanted to know.

Even though Sanity were currently one of the most hated heel teams on Smackdown, the fans cheered Nikki loudly when she picked the steps up again. Ignoring Ronda altogether, she ran at the cage with the steps again, trying to break it open. This time the impact almost completely detached one side of the square mesh section from the cell's framework.

In the ring, Bayley and Alexa's alliance had fallen apart, and they were now going at it with each other. That had given Zelina the chance to escape the ring. After Nikki slammed the steps into the cage for the second time, she turned around to get a run up for a third attempt, oblivious to the fact that Vega was already sprinting at her.

Flying at Cross in a spear-like move, Zelina sent them both crashing through the side of the cell, breaking it fully open. They both ended up on the floor on the outside, with the mesh section detached and lying underneath Nikki. However, in an unfortunate accident, the steps had ended up coming down hard on the left side of Zelina's back during the landing.

Lying face down, in a severe amount of pain, Zelina was at least rewarded with a "Holy shit" chant from the crowd. She quickly felt dampness on her back, realising that a sharp edge of the steps must have lacerated her.

"You okay?" Nikki mumbled to her, knowing that the steps landing on her back had to have hurt her.

"Fucking hurts," Zelina gasped. "Think I might have cracked a rib or two." Their next spot was supposed to involve her chasing Nikki up the side of the cell to the roof, but Zelina didn't know if she would be capable of climbing it now. Breathing was proving painful enough. She decided to call an audible to buy herself some time. "Get Ronda up there with you instead."

When Nikki got up and went back into the cell to call the audible with Ronda, Zelina crawled away to towards the commentary table. Seeing that something was wrong, Chris Amann, the ringside doctor came over to her with a white towel in his hand. "You okay, Zelina?" he asked, crouching down beside her as she propped herself up against the commentary table in a sitting position.

"Ribs," she gasped, feeling significant pain if she took anything more than a shallow breath. "Think I cracked I couple. I'm bleeding, too."

"Yeah, you are. Let me try and clean it up for you. You probably shouldn't continue with cracked ribs."

"I'm continuing, if I can," she said with determination. She lay back down on the floor so that he could easily work on her back with the towel. "Just clean me up," she instructed.

"It's not too deep," Amann reported on the cut she had sustained; at least some good news. "Looks like the bleeding is stopping already."

"How long do cracked ribs take to heal?" she asked, already worried about having to spend time on the shelf.

"If that's what you have, we're looking at four to six weeks to get you back in the ring, maybe more. We'll need to send you for scans to see the extent of the damage, then take it from there. Again, you really shouldn't go on. You could make things worse by taking more bumps."

"I have to go on," she insisted.

"Alright," Amann conceded reluctantly. "I've cleaned you up as best I can."

Zelina got to her feet, wincing at the pain from her damaged ribs. The fans had of course seen that she was in trouble, so they cheered her on. By then, Ronda and Nikki had made their way up to the top of the cell, which had the crowd on their feet. Gritting her teeth, Zelina knew she had to climb up there. It was going to hurt.

Taking it slowly, she scaled the side of the cell, certain that she was getting by purely on adrenaline. Each time she lifted herself higher was agony.

After reaching the top, she saw that Nikki currently had the upper hand on Ronda. That was good. Walking awkwardly across the roof of the cell, she came from behind Cross and gave her a forearm smash to the back, knocking her down. Zelina went down too, between the other two women, so that she could call another audible. "I can't do the table spot; my ribs have gone. I could barely climb up here. Ronda, you'll have to do it."

"Okay," Ronda said.

"I'm going to have to do something to keep you down for a minute," Nikki said.

"DDT me, then," Zelina said, definitely not wanting to take a bump on her back onto the steel.

The two women got up and Zelina took the DDT. It gave her the chance to stay down for a few minutes while the other four women carried the match. She knew Nikki would tell Bayley and Alexa that she was hurt once she got down off the cell.

Lying face down, she listened to the crowd reactions and pictured the action that was unfolding. Ronda would have gone over and started to climb down the side of the cell, only to be followed by Nikki, who would slam her forehead off the cage. Zelina listened to the noise in the arena increase as people realised that Ronda might be taking a huge bump. Then she heard the cheers and yells of horror as the spot happened. From where she was lying, she was able to see Ronda go through the Spanish announce table. It looked like the spot had gone okay.

Zelina lay there for a few minutes while Nikki got back into the ring and worked the match with Bayley and Alexa. She would have told them about the injury, and therefore they would know to make allowance for it when Zelina got back in the ring. All three women created several near falls, having the fans on the edges of their seats.

Knowing that it would take her a while to get back down the side of the cell, Zelina tried to calculate what would be the right time to start heading back to the ring. Once she figured the time was right, she got to her feet, gasping in pain. There was no doubt in her mind that at least one rib was cracked, if not fully broken. There was surely no way bruising could hurt so much.

As carefully as possible, she started climbing down the cell. The way she was moving must have told the fans that she was in trouble because they started a "Vega!" chant to spur her on.

"Vega walking back into the cell now," Renee said. "She was clearly injured when she speared Nikki Cross through the side of the cell earlier on. You can see the pain written all over her face."

"I don't know how Zelina's doing this," Alexander said. "We've got Ronda Rousey out here broken in half after going through the Spanish announce table, and now we've got Zelina back in the ring, obviously injured, yet she's going after Bayley!"

"Wait a minute!" Renee exclaimed as Sonya Deville was shown jumping over the ringside barricade, having arrived through the crowd. As always, she had the dreaded police baton in hand. "What the hell is she doing out here?"

"Deville rushing into the cell," Graves called. "She's got to be coming to help Bayley!"

That certainly seemed to be true. The first person Sonya went after was Alexa Bliss, who had been thrown to the outside of the ring moments earlier.

"Come on, this is pathetic," Renee protested. "Sonya Deville, Bayley's hired mercenary, is wearing out Alexa Bliss with that baton. Deville is not supposed to be in there!"

"Why don't you go try and get her out?" Graves suggested, knowing that it wasn't going to happen.

Once Sonya had finished battering Alexa with the baton, she entered the ring. Bayley was down on the mat, while Nikki was stamping on Zelina in the corner. Deville came up behind her and blasted her in the back with the baton.

"Nikki Cross just went down like a bag of wet sand," Graves said. "Sonya now, hammering away with the baton again."

"This is a travesty," Renee complained.

After delivering multiple shots with the baton, Sonya hauled Nikki out of the corner and deposited her in the middle of the ring. Bayley was crawling towards her, and the referee was standing right there, ready to make a count. He could do nothing about the blatant outside interference as there was no disqualification in a Hell in a Cell match.

"Not this way," Alexander pleaded as Bayley flopped an arm over Nikki.

One.

Two.

Cross got a shoulder up at the last moment, drawing a cheer from the fans. Given the option, they would prefer anyone to win rather than Bayley, especially with Deville helping her in such a callous manner.

Enraged that Nikki had managed to kick out, Sonya started hauling her up to her knees. When that was done, she took a step back and delivered her trademark MMA-style kick to Cross's head.

"Nikki Cross has to be out cold. That's going to be all," Renee said, appalled by what she was seeing.

Recovering quickly, Bayley crawled over and made a much better cover, hooking the leg.

One.

Two.

Zelina came flying into the shot, crashing both fists down on Bayley, breaking the pin up at just in time.

"Yes! Vega makes the save!" Renee yelled over the top of another cheer.

Sonya was quick to react, attempting to smash her baton down onto Zelina's back, but the champion rolled out of the way and the baton instead hit Bayley in the stomach. The misstep brought a loud cheer from the fans as Bayley writhed in agony, holding her injured stomach.

Horrified by what she had accidentally done, Sonya crouched down to try and tend to Bayley. It was another mistake – she should have been wary of Zelina. The champion was up, and rushed at Sonya. Taking her unawares, she was able to hit a Vega-rana.

"Deville taken out by Vega!" Renee called.

"But wait! No!" Alexander cried as Bayley came at Zelina from behind as she awkwardly tried to get up, and rolled her into a small package pinning combination.

"Tights!" Renee shouted loudly, spotting Bayley cheating.

One.

Two.

Despite the cheating, Vega was able to power out, sending Bayley flying forward, landing face first on the mat. Quickly lunging forward herself, Zelina grabbed hold of Bayley's ankle.

"Ankle lock!" Alexander shouted as the crowd erupted.

"No! Don't tap out!" Graves cried out, as if Bayley could hear him.

Squealing in pain, Bayley struggled for a few seconds, then pounded the mat with her hand. The deafening ovation Zelina's win got probably had a lot to do with the fact that everyone could tell she had finished the match in considerable, legitimate pain.

"Vega survives! Vega survives!" Renee yelled.

"Zelina Vega is still the champion!" Alexander joined in. "I can't believe it!"

As soon as the decisive tap out had happened, the damaged cell had started raising up into the ceiling and some medical personnel came jogging down the entrance ramp.

"I don't know how they're going to fix the cell," Graves said. "We're supposed to have to more Hell in a Cell matches tonight."

The shot changed to show Zelina, who was lying face down on the mat, obviously hurting big time.

"Forget the cell," Renee said. "Talk about that woman right there. Zelina Vega, despite obviously battling an injury, just came through a fatal five way Hell in a Cell match and retained the WWE Women's Championship."

"But at what cost?" Alexander asked. With the cell now out of the way, the medical personnel were in the ring. They began to attend to Zelina, with the referee also there to render assistance. "There you see the EMTs with Zelina. I hate to say it, but you have to wonder if she has a serious back injury."

For a minute or so, some replays were shown, running the audience back through the highlights of the match, included the moment Zelina had been injured by the ring steps, and the decisive tap out from Bayley.

When the replays ended, Zelina was shown again, now at least sitting up, but clearly telling the EMTs that she didn't think she could stand.

Abruptly, Vega's music faded out and Sasha Banks' theme replaced it. The crowd cheered loudly, immediately realising what was happening.

"Wait! What's this?" Renee demanded.

Sasha came jogging down the entrance ramp, carrying her Money in the Bank briefcase.

"Yes! Sasha Banks is going to cash in!" Graves shouted as Zelina was shown looking distraught at what she was about to be faced with. "This is the perfect opportunity! Vega can't even get to her feet!"

Sasha reached the ring and jumped up on the apron, but then stopped in her tracks.

"Woah! Wait a second," Alexander said as Banks' music stopped playing. "Ronda Rousey is back in the ring. After falling off the cell and crashing through the Spanish announce table, Ronda is actually back up."

Shaking her head emphatically, Ronda walked over to stand between Zelina, who was still sitting on the floor surrounded by medics, and Sasha, who stood on the apron. Rousey's posture was defensive, almost like a lioness protecting an injured cub.

"What's Rousey doing?" Graves shouted incredulously. "Banks is trying to cash in, but it looks like Ronda isn't going to allow it to happen! Why?"

"Because it's the right thing to do," Renee said emotionally. "Ronda's coming to the aid of her friend, if that's what Zelina is."

With a look of fury on her face, Banks seemed to resign herself to the fact that this wasn't going to be her moment. She certainly didn't fancy going through Ronda to get to Zelina. With some of the crowd booing, Sasha dropped back off the apron and walked away, saving her briefcase for a later date.

"Thank God," Alexander said. "I know the idea is to use the briefcase at the best possible time, but it would have been a travesty to see Zelina have the title stolen from her after the victory she just managed to pull out."

Some of the fans agreed. They were applauding Ronda, and some even tried to start a "Ronda Rousey!" chant. She stood there glaring after Sasha until she had walked through the curtain to the back. Only then did Ronda turn around and walk over to Zelina.

"Look at the look of concern on Rousey's face," Renee said. "I think she genuinely cares about Zelina Vega."

The production crew got a shot of Zelina sitting there looking up at the much bigger woman standing in front of her. The lioness and cub imagery was in full effect again.

Ronda bent down and picked the injured Zelina up, cradling her in her arms. Holding her title belt in one hand, Zelina clung on to Ronda with the other.

Like that, they made their way over to the ropes, which the referee parted to allow Ronda to leave the ring more easily. Bad Reputation began to play, to another cheer.

"This is a side of Ronda Rousey I've never seen, and never expected to see," Alexander said. "She stepped up to protect her friend when she was in desperate need."

"Oh, please," Graves groaned. "I've never heard anything so pathetic in my life."

To end the segment, Renee said, "Whether you find it pathetic or not, Corey, Ronda stopped Sasha Banks from cashing in her Money in the Bank briefcase. Zelina Vega is still your WWE Women's Champion."

"But for how long?" Graves managed to say just before a WWE Network commercial ran.


	60. Chapter 60

When Zelina was carried through the curtain to the back by Ronda, she saw Seth waiting for her in Gorilla with a look of grave concern on his face. Watching on the TV in the locker room, he had to have seen that the match hadn't gone down anything like the way it should have done. It also must have been obvious that she was in a lot of pain. She imagined there had probably been replays of the steps falling on her, too.

Seth rushed forward as soon as they came through the curtain. "How bad is it, babe?"

After Ronda gently lowered her to her feet, Zelina said, "My ribs… have gone. At least one, maybe two. It feels like I've cracked them. Even breathing is painful."

"Oh no," Seth groaned, concern still written all over his face.

"I can't believe you finished the match," Ronda said. "I saw the way those steps landed on you. I thought you were in deep shit. You're badass, girl."

Hunter walked over then, having taken off his production headset. He also looked worried by what had happened.

"I'm sorry the finish probably sucked," Zelina said to the boss before he could get a word in. "I did my best to call it on the spot, with what I thought I could actually do."

"You did great just to get through the match, Zelina," Hunter said. "The way those steps came down on your back looked seriously nasty. And don't worry about the finish; it went down just fine. To call all that on that fly was outstanding work. I want you to get straight to Doctor Lucas's office and get yourself checked out, okay? You're most likely going to have to be sent for X-rays to check out the damage. I doubt there will be much an examination here will be able to tell us."

"Yeah," Zelina sighed, resigned to her fate. She looked forlornly at the title belt she was holding. "Am I going to have to give this up?"

"I'd like to hope not. We've got five weeks until TLC. Hopefully you only have bruising, and you'll be good to go in a couple of weeks. But let's start by getting you checked out, and we'll take it from there."

"I'll come with you," Seth said to her, as if that wasn't already obvious.

"I'm hoping for good news," Ronda added, giving her shoulder a little squeeze.

Zelina did her best to manage a smile, despite how disconsolate she was feeling. "Thanks, Ronda. Me too."

"Come on, muñeca," Seth said gently, taking her hand. There was nothing but compassion in his voice.

Walking out of Gorilla, Zelina saw Bayley, Sonya and Nikki Cross all waiting for her; the first two because they were her friends, the latter because it had been her mistake that had caused the injury.

"Zelina, fuck, I'm sorry," Nikki said, approaching her. "I tried to throw the steps away as I fell, like I was supposed to, but the damned things slipped out of my hands."

"Don't worry, shit happens," Zelina replied, trying to assure her that no grudge was going to be held. What she had said was true; accidents happened in wrestling. If you wanted a job where you would never get hurt, you had no business in a wrestling ring. Nikki dropping the steps on her had been an accident, and that was all there was to it.

"I hope it's not too bad," Nikki said, still looking guilty.

"Thanks. So do I," Zelina agreed. She moved on to Bayley and Sonya, who also passed on their best wishes and positivity. Then it was time to get to the doctor's office.

"Like Hunter said, you did so well to get through the match," Seth told her proudly once it was just the two of them walking hand in hand along the hallway.

"Thanks, baby," she said with a little smile. "I don't have bruising, Seth," she told him a moment later. "I can tell it's worse than that. Five weeks until TLC. Oh, God, I'm going to have to give the title up." Putting it into words had tears threatening to come.

"Hey, we don't know that," he told her soothingly.

Looking into his eyes, she could see that he felt her mental pain, if not the physical. He had first-hand experience of having to relinquish a championship due to injury, so he most definitely knew all about what she was going through. "I wouldn't mind being booked to drop the title, but I don't want to give it up," she said, shaking her head.

Seth kissed her softly on the forehead. "I know. But like Hunter said, we need to start by getting you checked out, and you're going to have to get X-rays done. Ribs are a shit thing to hurt, because there's nothing you can do apart from wear a chest wrap and wait for them to heal."

"You've hurt your ribs before?" she realised from the way he had said it. "I never have. How long did it take for you to get back to normal?" She could tell by the way Seth grimaced for a moment that he would have preferred not to have let slip that piece of information. She realised she was about to get some bad news.

"It was a long time ago, but as far as I remember it was a couple of months before I was one hundred per-cent."

Zelina closed her eyes, feeling a sinking feeling in her stomach. "Shit," was all she could say.

"Mine was a broken rib, though. Yours might not be that bad."

They continued to the doctor's office, where Zelina was given an examination and an ice pack was applied to her back to reduce any swelling that her injury might cause. At least the cut the steps had caused was only minor. Sure enough, the examination wasn't able to provide her with much of a diagnosis.

"Go and get changed, Zelina, and we'll get you straight to the hospital when the show is over so that we can get some X-rays done," Doctor Lucas said in a kindly manner. "I'll be there with you, so we can get the results ASAP and see what we're dealing with."

"Thanks, Doc," Zelina said. It wasn't the first time she had needed to see him after a match. She had always found him to be pleasant, and had never had any cause to complain about any of the treatment she had been given. The same was true on this occasion. Even so, she wanted to push him for more information. "If I have cracked or broken ribs, how long am I going to be out for?"

"I couldn't feel a break, so I don't think we're looking at that. But a fracture of at least one rib is likely in my opinion, given how hard those steps landed on you. I saw the footage and it didn't look good. I really wouldn't like to say anything more until we see the X-Rays, though. Come back here after the show and we'll head to the hospital together, alright?"

"Okay," she replied, awkwardly getting up from her sitting position on the examination table.

Seth had waited in the room with her, holding the Women's Championship for her. He led the way out of the room, trying to put a positive face on things. Zelina realised that was exactly what he was doing, but she still appreciated the effort. "I've been thinking," he said. "Even if you can't make TLC, surely they can have you go one PPV without defending the title. They only use that supposed thirty day rule when it suits them creatively. I remember last year when Alexa was Raw Women's Champion, she went months without defending it and no one said a thing."

"Yeah, I guess," she mumbled. "I'd rather not worry about being in that position, though. I want to make TLC."

"I know you do, muñeca. If anyone can do it, you can. I've always believed a large part of recovering from injury is mental, as well as the obvious physical recovery you need. I was able to come back from a nine month knee injury in seven months. I did that by telling myself I could do it, every single day."

Zelina thought about objecting that was because he had worked his ass off in rehab and that there was no way to rehab a cracked rib, but she realised the point he was trying to make. He was right. She had the injury. Letting it get into her head and drag her down was not going to fix anything. What she needed to do was keep her chin up and face the situation she was in with determination. It wasn't a question of worrying if she was going to miss TLC and be made to give up the title, it was a question of not allowing that to happen.

She took his hand and squeezed it. "You're right. I'm going to be there at TLC, come hell or high water."

"There's my Zelina," Seth said proudly.

* * *

Later that night, Seth and Zelina were sitting in a private waiting room at the hospital where she had been taken for her X-Rays. Doctor Lucas would be returning shortly with the results. The past few minutes had been spent in silence, Zelina sitting with Seth's hand clasped in both of hers, resting in her lap. "At least Hunter agreed to my live stream idea," she said, more for the sake of breaking the silence than anything else.

"Yeah, and he didn't even object to the poker aspect of it," Seth replied. "I thought he might want you to do something else. But then, I guess it helps that it's his charity you're raising the money for. He did seem very appreciative about it."

"I've been trying to think of something I can do to encourage people to put big donations in. I talked to Dan about it and he's happy to moderate the questions for me. He agreed with Bayley that we should put a fifty dollar minimum donation on getting a question answered. He can set it up so that the question appears on the screen, too. But I'd like to do something else, for even bigger donations."

"Maybe some sort of prize draw, if you can do that on a stream?" Seth wondered. "You could say anyone who donates a hundred bucks gets into the draw, for example. Maybe the winner gets a couple of ringside Raw tickets or something? Or maybe you could meet the winner?"

Zelina's eyes lit up at that. "That would work, yeah! Maybe we could have a little banner or something at the top of the screen: 'One hundred dollar prize draw! Win the chance to have lunch with Zelina Vega!' Hopefully that would get some interest."

"Yeah, I think it's safe to say it will," he grinned. "I'll tell you what I'll do. Whatever amount you raise by the end of the stream, I'll double it out of my own pocket."

"What? Really?" she exclaimed. In surprise, she turned to look at him. The swift movement made her gasp in pain. "Oh, shit. I shouldn't have done that. But are you serious?"

"Yeah, I'm serious. You can tell the people that on the stream, too. It'll hopefully encourage them to put more money in if they know it's going to count for double."

Squeezing his hand, Zelina said, "Seth, you really are the best. That's such an amazing gesture. We're going to put so much money into Connor's Cure. I hope I can win some good money at the poker while I stream."

"Is there anything you need to buy before you can do the stream? For the computer, I mean?"

She nodded. "There is, actually. I need to order a microphone. We have a decent webcam, so that's not a problem, but I don't want to use the microphone on my headset. The sound quality would be trash. Now that Hunter gave his okay to the idea, I'll get one ordered tomorrow. I assume they're going to send me home to rest up with this stupid injury anyway, so I'll have plenty of time on my hands."

"You'll definitely be sent home," he agreed. "It's going to suck not having you on the bus with me."

Before she could respond, the door opened and Doctor Lucas walked in. As was invariably the case, he had a caring air about him. Years of experience dealing with patients were being put to good use. "I've looked over your X-Rays, Zelina," he reported.

"What's the verdict?" she asked anxiously, squeezing Seth's hand again.

"You have minor fractures to two ribs."

"Minor fractures?" Seth echoed, emphasising the first word.

"Minor fractures," the doctor repeated. "I estimate recovery time at four to six weeks, so you're touch and go for TLC. I'm going to send you home for three weeks, but I'll recommend that you're left off TV until TLC. Staying home and resting will give you the best chance of a quick recovery."

"Thanks," Zelina said earnestly. If she could have breathed well enough, she would have sighed with relief. Minor fractures sounded like something she could deal with in the space of five weeks. "So I have to avoid any exercise, heavy lifting, anything like that, right?"

"Absolutely. For the next couple of days I need you to apply an ice pack every half an hour. That'll help with the swelling and the pain. Over the counter painkillers should do the job as far as pain management is concerned. Also, I want you to try and sleep in as much of an upright position as you can for the next few nights."

"Okay," she acknowledged, nodding seriously.

"Lastly, and most importantly, I need you to make sure you regularly take deep breaths. It will hurt a lot for the first week to two weeks, but it's important that you do it to keep your lungs healthy."

"Got it," she assured him.

"Alright, so what I'm going to do is book you in for an evaluation with Doctor Amann the week of TLC. Hopefully he'll be able to clear you to compete."

Zelina and Seth glanced at each other. They very much hoped so, too.


	61. Chapter 61

Zelina was almost set for her charity poker live stream in aid of Connor's Cure. Thanks to help from her friend Dan, she had the stream set up and ready to go, and knew the basics of how to run it. Dan was logged on at home, ready to moderate the questions that would be sent in by people who donated fifty bucks or more. To make sure that people had a chance to come out and watch without missing the start, she began with a ten minute pre-stream, with a picture of her with the Women's Championship belt, a countdown in the corner of the screen and her WWE theme music playing.

"Okay," she said to herself once the countdown started. She copied the link to the stream and pasted it into a new tweet. Before pressing send, she added a message:  _Charity live stream starting now. I'll be streaming for the next 2 plus hours. Please come along, enjoy some poker, have a chat, donate some money to help Connor's Cure. A $100 donation enters you into a prize draw, winner gets to have lunch with me!_

There was a viewer count in the corner of her screen. Once she saw it start going up, she knew everything was up and running okay. The preparations were complete. She headed off for a last minute bathroom visit, then went downstairs to get herself a couple of bottles of water and some potato chips to snack on while she was streaming. There was no telling how long she was going to be there for, so she needed something easy to keep her going.

Returning to the games room, she set the water bottles and the potato chips on the desk, out of sight of the camera that was fixed to the top of the monitor. She was almost ready to begin. She put on her headphones, hearing her entrance music still playing on repeat. Another thing Dan had set up for her was a playlist of songs that were licensed for use on the streaming site, so that she could have something playing quietly in the background for the viewer's enjoyment. She would leave the playlist on shuffle throughout the stream.

The countdown had just passed the one minute mark. It was almost time to begin. She quickly loaded up the poker site that she would be using and bought into four tournaments that would all be starting at the same time. Playing four tables at once was about right for her capabilities when it came to online play. She had the ability to show one particular table at a time to the viewer's at the click of a button.

Dragging the webcam box down to the bottom right corner of the screen, she was ready to go. She waited for the final fifteen seconds to elapse, then clicked to get rid of the countdown screen. A picture of the four poker tables appeared, with the words 'Tournament starts in four minutes' displayed as a message over each of them. Her image was on the webcam in the corner. She was live.

"Hi, guys. How is everyone?" she asked sweetly, giving a little wave to the camera. The chat immediately started exploding. Trying to read it would have been a waste of time, so she didn't even attempt to. Besides, the whole point was to get people to donate if they wanted to interact. That reminded her to turn on the stream layout that Dan had made for her.

"I'm just going to turn my layout on here." With a couple of clicks, a border was added to the screen. At the top was a banner advertising the fact that a donation of one hundred dollars or more automatically entered the contributor into a prize draw to win the chance to have lunch with Zelina. Underneath that was another offer. Any donation of fifty dollars or more entitled the contributor to have a question answered by Zelina, so long as it was clean and appropriate. In the top right corner was a large Connor's Cure logo with the words 'Donate here' underneath it on a big red button. In the top left was a counter to show the amount that had been raised so far. It currently showed nothing, but it wouldn't stay that way for long.

"There we go," Zelina said with a smile. The first job was to explain the way the stream was going to work for the fans. To her immense surprise, she saw that more than six hundred people were already watching, and the number was increasing. "Okay, guys, welcome," she said, giving the camera another smile. "We've got a few minutes here before the poker starts, so let me explain what we're doing today. This is a charity stream, with all proceeds going to Connor's Cure. I have bought in to four poker tournaments. Anything I win will be added to the amount you guys donate. I'll be streaming for a minimum of two hours, or until whatever tournaments I'm left in come to an end. If we go deep in one, I could be here for seven or eight hours."

Glancing at the chat which was scrolling up the screen at breakneck pace, one particular message caught her eye and made her laugh. "Eight hours with the Queen. I wouldn't count on it. I've not played online poker for a few weeks, so I might be a bit rusty. We'll see how it goes."

She noticed that the first few donations had come in. "We have a counter in the top left of the screen, guys, showing how much we've raised. We're already at seventeen dollars. Thank you, whoever made those donations. As you can see at the top of the screen, we have some perks available this afternoon. A donation of fifty dollars or more will allow you to submit a question for me to be answered. If everything works as planned, your username and question should also appear in the bottom left of the screen, along with your donation amount. Please be aware that the questions are being moderated, so you won't get the perk if you type anything inappropriate."

Another message caught her attention in the chat, and she read it out. "Do I have to pay fifty dollars to ask where Seth is? No, you don't. He's on the road. There's a live event tonight in Iowa. Rollins country," she grinned, watching that chat go wild with love for Seth.

"We're also going to have a prize draw at the end of the stream, whenever that ends up being. Anyone who donates one hundred dollars or more will automatically be entered into the draw. The winner will be having lunch with me in Orlando next month."

Someone in the chat said something that she had been expecting to see. "I don't know anything about poker," she read out. "I'm sure you're not the only one. We have more than seven hundred people in here now, which is pretty insane. But what I'm going to try and do is explain to you a bit about what I'm doing while I play so that you guys can pick it up. As you can see, we're a minute away from the action getting underway."

"You play four tables at once?" she read out. "Yeah. Bear in mind that I'll rarely be in a hand on more than two of them at a time. Having four in play just means there won't be extended periods with nothing going on, and it of course increases my chances of winning some money to donate, or of losing more, I suppose," she added with a giggle.

Suddenly, she remembered that she hadn't started the background music. "Oh, I've got a playlist ready to go, so you've got something to listen to as well as me rambling on for two hours." She clicked on the music playlist and put it on shuffle, then lowered the volume a little so that it wouldn't drown her out.

"A minute to go," she said, feeling hyped up and ready to play some poker. She reached up and adjusted her headphones to make them a little more comfortable. As soon as she had done that, she saw the chat starting to go insane with people writing things like 'OMG!'

"What's going on, guys?" she asked with a nervous laugh. As she was speaking she already saw the answer. Someone had typed 'Seth put a ring on it!'

Shit, she thought. She had totally forgotten to take the promise ring off. Well, that was public knowledge now. She hoped Seth wouldn't be mad at her for her mistake. The first priority, though, was damage control. "Oh, you saw this, huh?" she smiled, showing the ring to the camera. "It's a promise ring, guys. We're not engaged."

Just before the four tournaments started, Zelina glanced at the viewer count. "Woah. We have more than a thousand people in here and growing fast. Thanks for coming out, guys. I really appreciate it. We've raised sixty dollars already, too. I'm ready to take questions if anyone has fifty bucks or more to donate, and don't forget you can enter the prize draw for lunch with me if you donate more than a hundred. Oh!" she exclaimed, remembering Seth's generous offer. "I forgot to say that Seth said he will double whatever we raise today out of his own pocket, so your donation effectively counts for double. Isn't my man amazing?"

She didn't have the chance to read the chat melting down over her final sentence because the first hand was dealt on each of her four poker tables. She spent the next couple of minutes explaining the basics of the game for the viewers, until the first big donation came in, along with a question. As had been intended, the username, donation amount and the question also appeared on the screen for the viewers.

Zelina read it out. "76ers donated fifty dollars and asked, 'How did you fall in love with Seth?' How did I know that would be the first question?" she giggled. After a brief pause to make a decision in the hand she was playing, she answered the question. "It's a tough one. I don't think you can really say how you fall in love with a person. It's a gradual process. You start off by liking someone, and if they like you too, you might try a relationship. If that works out, over time, you fall in love. I don't think there's a particular moment you can look back on and say, 'Yeah, that's where it happened.' Thanks for your donation, 76ers. I appreciate it."

It appeared that seeing one question go through and receive an answer spurred others on to send theirs in. The second one popped up only moments after she was done with the first answer, making her glad of the fact that Dan was working in the background to feed them to her.

"SharkGirlOlivia donated one hundred fifteen dollars and asked, 'What is that on the wall behind you?'"

Zelina instinctively turned around to look. She realised that the Summerslam plaque was in the shot on the webcam. She laughed as she turned back to face the camera. "I thought I was going to see a big ass spider or something over there then! I would have had to run! But no, that's a plaque that WWE sent to me after Summerslam, to mark the occasion. All eight of us got one. I'm very proud of it. If you go back and look on Alexa's Instagram, I'm pretty sure I remember her posting a picture of hers, so you can see it in more detail. Thanks for your donation, Olivia. You're the first to enter the prize draw. Good luck!"

Zelina had time to play one hand before the next question came through. She recognised the name of the person who had sent it.

"Sam Blair donated one hundred dollars. Hi, Sam," she said with smile and a wave to the camera. "Sam's question is, 'What was your favourite part in making the movie Fighting with my Family?' I'd have to say it was getting to work with my good friend The Rock. He's such an amazing guy, and he's done a lot for me and my family over the years. I'm very grateful to him. So, yeah, getting the opportunity to work with him on a great project like that was pretty amazing."

Before the stream, Zelina had been concerned about whether many people would come out, or if much money would be raised. But now she saw that more than two thousand people were there, and they had already raised more than five hundred dollars. If it carried on at that rate for two hours or more, it was going to be an expensive day for Seth! Before long, the next question appeared.

"Jordan donated fifty dollars and asked, 'What diva made you want to compete for WWE?' Honestly, I wouldn't say any particular diva made me want to be a wrestler. I've loved wrestling since I was four years old. I always knew it was what I wanted to do. Of course there were amazing women competing while I was growing up; people like Chyna, Trish, Lita and many others. But I can't really say that any one of them inspired me more than the others. Thank you for your question."

The next question and donation came up almost straight away.

"DenyingTheTruth donated one hundred dollars and asked, 'How are your ribs? Will you be ready to face Nia at TLC?' My ribs are doing a lot better, thank you. It's been almost three weeks since the injury. The first week or so was a real nightmare. Literally doing anything was so painful. But I'm past the worst of it now. I'm certainly hoping to be back for TLC. That's all I can say right now, but thank you for your concern and for your donation. We've already raised over a thousand bucks. You guys are blowing my mind. Thank you all so much. Let's keep it going!"

Zelina took a moment to play a hand, realising that the poker had pretty much turned out to be an irrelevance. People were ploughing money in to interact with her. She could have just sat there in front of the computer and achieved the same thing. Still, there was at least the chance that she might win some money. After she took a sip from her water bottle, the next donation came through, and it was a big one.

"Woah! ThatWrestlingFan donated four hundred dollars! Four hundred! Thank you so much," she said, shaking her head in disbelief at the generosity. "The question is, 'What inspired you to become a wrestler, and who's your favourite wrestler of all time?' My answer to the first part of that is going to seem kind of vague. As I said in a previous answer, I knew from the age of four that I wanted to do this. My parents thought it was just a phase, but I always knew it really was what I wanted to do. I loved everything about wrestling; the pageantry of it, the over the top characters, the athleticism, the storytelling. As for my favourite wrestler? It has to be The Rock. He was my dad's favourite, and mine as well. I'm just blessed that I got to meet him, become friends with him and have him become my mentor. Thank you again for your huge donation."

The next question came through after just a few moments. They were coming at quite a pace, but that was good, since each one meant at least fifty more dollars into the pot.

"Texaskid4life donated fifty dollars and asked, 'What do you like best about Seth?' Woah. It's hard to pick one thing that I could say I like best about him. But since I guess I have to in order to answer your question, I'll say that it's the fact that he has such a big heart. He's always there when people need him, whether it's me, his family, his friends, or I guess I could even say his fans. I've been through some tough times personally since we've been together, and he really was a rock for me. So, yeah, that's my answer," she decided with a smile for the camera.

* * *

The stream ended up lasting almost four hours before Zelina busted out of the one tournament in which she had made the money. "Well, that's going to do it, guys," she said. "Not much you can do with pocket kings if you're going to run into pocket aces. But that's cards. We won four hundred and eighty dollars, so that will be added to the total we've got there on the screen. That takes us over thirty thousand dollars. With Seth's promise to double it, that means we've raised over sixty grand for Connor's Cure." She made a praying gesture to the camera. "Thank you so much, everyone who came out to watch, and especially everyone who donated. You've exceeded my wildest expectations. Sixty grand is just amazing. Before I sign off, there's just one more thing to do. We've got to find out who the winner of the prize draw will be. Someone will be coming to have lunch with me in Orlando next month."

She closed down the poker site and loaded up the app that Dan had set up to do the prize draw. It showed her how many people had been entered, and had a button for her to click to draw a name at random.

"Wow. Forty two people donated one hundred dollars or more," she said in disbelief. "I thought it felt like I answered a lot of questions," she added with a grin. "Okay, I'm going to go ahead and draw the winner. Good luck everyone."

She clicked the button and a name appeared on the screen, written on a golden ticket. "SharkGirlOlivia!" Zelina read out. "Congratulations! I'll be contacting you soon in a private message with more information."

Blowing out a tired sigh, Zelina took off her headphones. "Okay, guys, that's it. Thanks again for taking part. Maybe we'll do another stream again in the future. Goodnight." With that, she clicked to end the stream.


	62. Chapter 62

"Nia's going over tonight, Zelina."

As the words came out of Hunter's mouth, Zelina felt a sinking feeling in her stomach. After all of the pain she had been through with the rib injury over the past five weeks; after all of the sleepless nights worrying about whether Doctor Amann would clear her for TLC when the time came, this was what she got. She had been cleared, barely, only to come and drop the belt. She wanted to walk out of the boss's office and go cry somewhere. But she had to be stronger than that.

"Please don't look so downcast," Hunter said gently. "This isn't a reaction to your injury. The plan was always for you to drop the belt tonight. We have other plans for you."

"What other plans?" Zelina asked, sounding more strident than she had wanted to. Being upset would do that, she thought, deciding not to apologise for it.

"That's for tomorrow night. What I need you to do tonight is put Nia over. You're going to sell like your ribs are still hurt, yet you're competing anyway. It'll give Nia a fairly easy win, but without making you look bad."

Zelina still felt very bitter about the whole thing, especially if her loss was going to be a squash. "It's because Fighting with My Family is old news now, huh? I only had the belt because you wanted promotion."

"No," Hunter assured her firmly. "I didn't book you to be the first Women's Champion just promote the movie. That's not fair. I don't think you can argue that you've had a twelve month period that a lot of women around here would kill for."

She had to admit that was true, and she was very close to stepping over a line. Hunter wasn't someone she should let herself get angry with; only bad things lay down that road. What she had to do was suck it up. The booking decision had been made. She was going to have to do a job for Nia. Kicking up a fuss about it was only going to make it less likely that she would get a second run herself in the future.

"I'm sorry, Hunter," she said after taking a breath. "This just hurts, that's all. But I'll give it my best out there, of course."

"I know it's tough, especially with the injury, but like I said, we do have other plans for you. You're dropping the belt, but we're not casting you aside."

"Am I teaming up with Ronda?" she had to ask. "After the way Hell in a Cell went down, that's what it seems like."

Hunter decided to throw her a bone to make her feel a bit better. "Yes, you're teaming with Ronda. But I can't say anything more until tomorrow night. I don't want this leaking out, understood?"

"Yeah," she confirmed with a nod.

"Alright, you can go." Zelina made it halfway to the door before his voice stopped her and made her look back. "Zelina. There are ups and downs in this business. You've been here more than a year and this is your first down. Take it on the chin."

Reading between the lines, Zelina figured that the message was that she was in danger of losing some standing in his eyes if she didn't do what he said. It was a warning delivered with a smile. "I will," she promised.

Walking out into the hallway, that last little exchange replayed itself in her head. She wondered just how badly she had played the meeting. It had all started so well, with Hunter's heartfelt thanks for the money she had raised with her live stream. But he clearly hadn't been overly impressed with her reaction to news that she was dropping the belt. Part of her regretted not acting differently, but another part said that the news she had gotten had hurt, so why should she pretend otherwise?

Walking back to the locker room, she resolved herself not to give Nia any attitude or to be miserable in front of her. That wouldn't be fair. She was a nice girl, and this was her night to win her first championship. Zelina knew she would feel bad if she did anything to spoil things for Nia. That was the kind of thing Sasha Banks would probably do.

Entering the locker room, Zelina saw Nia in there, which hadn't been the case when she had set off to Hunter's office to get what had turned out to be the bad news.

"Zelina, can we get together to talk about the match?" Nia asked eagerly, walking over to her.

"Yeah," Zelina said brightly, sounding a lot more upbeat than she felt. "I just spoke to Hunter, so I know what the deal is."

Nia humbled her with her next words. "I'm really sorry it came like this for you. It's really tough after you made it back from your injury to be here tonight."

Those kind words helped Zelina to snap out of her mood a bit. "Don't apologise, Nia. That's how the business goes. You're overdue your first run, and I'm happy for you that you're getting it. My time will come around again. We'll get together and work out how we'll get it done tonight."

Nia offered a hug, which Zelina accepted. "Thanks, Zel. You're the best. I really appreciate you being like this."

"You got it," Zelina said in a friendly manner.

They parted, and Zelina headed for her locker, seeing her belt sitting in front of it for what she now knew was the last time. On her way over there, she walked past Sasha Banks.

"Shame they didn't have me cash in on you instead," she mumbled.

Apparently Nia had been quick to tell the locker room what the deal was. "Fuck off, Banks," Zelina fired back, totally not in the mood for Sasha's bullshit.

* * *

_WWE TLC – October 21st 2018_

The video promo package for the Women's Championship match was focused almost entirely on Nia, which was understandable since Zelina hadn't been around to do any build up work.

Jax had won a battle royal to establish herself as the number one contender on the first Smackdown episode after Hell in Cell. Since then, she had been running through opponents week after week, displaying a new cutting edge and ruthless streak that had been missing from her game in the past.

Nia's music was the first to play, drawing some boos, but the reaction was nothing special. It was hardly surprising that the crowd were not overwhelmingly hyped up for a match that had no rivalry between the two competitors.

"Nia Jax on her way to the ring, for what she insists will be her crowning moment," Renee Young said on commentary. "And after seeing the wrecking spree she's been on this past month on Smackdown, it's frankly hard to disagree."

"Yes, I agree," Brody Alexander said. "No one is a bigger admirer of Zelina Vega than me, but I'm concerned for her tonight. Let's be honest, we don't even know what condition Zelina is in. We haven't seen her since Hell in a Cell, where she was somehow able to retain the Women's Championship with broken ribs."

"Look at the look on Nia's face," Corey Graves said. "I have a feeling that broken ribs are going to be the least of Vega's worries by the end of this one. This could get very nasty indeed."

Nia had entered the ring and walked over to the commentary table side of the ring. She stood there glaring towards the entrance, waiting for her next victim to come out.

Behind the curtain, Zelina looked down at her title belt sadly as her music hit. She noticed that she didn't get much of an ovation, considering she had been injured for a month. She walked through the curtain, walking awkwardly, selling her supposedly still injured ribs. She was wearing a chest wrap to convey that message even further.

"Oh, my," Alexander said at his first sight of Zelina. "This isn't good. This isn't good at all."

"No it isn't," Renee agreed. "You can see the heavy bandaging Vega has around her ribs, and judging by the way she's walking, I really don't think she should be competing here tonight."

Graves said, "One thing I'll give Zelina credit for is her willingness to compete. She's a proud woman, and she wouldn't want to have to relinquish her title due to injury. However, pride can be a dangerous thing, especially when you're up against someone like Nia Jax."

Zelina walked up the ring steps and awkwardly stepped through the ropes, grimacing in pain. With her entrance complete, it was over to Greg Hamilton to handle the announcements.

"This contest is scheduled for one fall, and it for the WWE Women's Championship! Introducing first, the challenger, from San Diego, California, Nia Jax!"

Nia stepped closer to Zelina, towering over her and surveying her like a tasty piece of meat that was about to be served up.

"And her opponent, from Queens, New York, the WWE Women's Champion, Zelina Vega!"

Zelina held her belt up for the final time, making sure that it looked like it hurt her ribs to do so. Then she handed the belt to the referee. It was no longer hers. To all intents and purposes, her reign was over. There was just the matter of getting the job done now.

The action in the one-sided contest got underway. Zelina spent several minutes selling the ass kicking she was taking, much of her lack of resistance attributed to her injury. Eventually, her turn came to mount some offense, culminating in a missile dropkick from the top rope.

"Vega hit the dropkick!" Renee called.

But Zelina had landed hard on her back, and was screaming in pain.

"Oh, no!" Alexander cried. "Zelina landed hard, and I think she hurt her ribs again. She's in agony."

Nia had been staggered into the ropes by the dropkick, but she now saw her opponent down and writhing around on the mat. Seizing the opportunity, Jax ran forwards and leapt high into the air.

"There it is! The leg drop!" Graves shouted. "That's going to be all!"

"But wait, there's no cover," Renee said, sounding confused.

Instead, Nia got up and hauled Zelina to her feet, before hoisting her up onto her shoulders.

"Nia's going to put an exclamation point on it!" Graves exclaimed.

Nia delivered a thunderous Samoan drop, drawing some groans from the crowd. Everyone knew it was over. Some fans joined in with the count, with no great enthusiasm.

"One."

"Two."

"Three."

"She did it! Nia Jax is the champion!" Graves shouted, more hyped about it than anyone else was.

"Zelina gave it what she had, but she stood no chance," Alexander said sadly.

"Now wait a minute!" Renee called.

In the ring, after the referee had handed her the title belt, Nia had chased him from the ring. Tossing the belt aside, she prepared to deliver another leg drop to the motionless Zelina, before Hamilton even had chance to announce her as the new champion.

"Another leg drop. This is uncalled for," Renee objected. "Jax already won the title, why can't she just get out of here?"

"Who's going to make her?" Graves wanted to know as Nia picked Zelina up again. A second Samoan drop was incoming.

Bad Reputation began to play, bringing the fans to their feet.

"I'll tell you who's going to make her!" Alexander cried. "Ronda Rousey, marching towards the ring. And look at the look on her face!"

Seeing that Ronda was coming for a fight, Nia tossed Zelina to the canvas, grabbed her newly-won championship and bailed from the ring.

Ronda entered the ring and stood guard over Zelina, not taking her eyes off Nia until the new champion had retreated up the entrance ramp.

Crouching down, Rousey looked at Vega with concern. The lioness and injured cub imagery from Hell in a Cell was back. As Ronda carefully scooped Zelina up into her arms, the segment got its second loudest cheer, only short of the one that had greeted Ronda's entrance music.

Acting unconscious as she was carried out of the ring, with Bad Reputation playing again, Zelina realised that the Rousey – Vega little and large combination was more over than she was, even though it hadn't even properly debuted yet. At least she had something to work with, she supposed.

* * *

The atmosphere on the tour bus was very sombre when Elena pulled out of the parking garage after TLC. Not only had Zelina dropped her title in a one-sided squash match, Finn Balor had cashed in on Seth after the main event, and had taken the WWE Championship. There were now no champions among the group of friends.

Zelina sat in Seth's arms on their couch, with only the fact that she was with him to stop her feeling utterly miserable.

She was on Twitter on her phone. Some fans were angry with WWE over the way she had been crushed by Nia. That didn't particularly surprise Zelina. What did surprise her was the number of people who professed themselves to be happy that she had lost. The feeling seemed to be that putting her with Ronda was a much better idea than having her as the Women's Champion.

Then she saw an article from one of the big dirt sheet sites. It's headline was: Why Zelina Vega losing the Women's Championship is a good thing.

Clicking on the link, she read what the author had to say, and her feeling of depression got worse. The author's opinion was that WWE now had the chance to rectify the mistake they had made by taking the best manager in the business and turning her into a rank average wrestler.

The article went on to say that she had been on fire; the name on everyone's lips, back when she had managed Andrade, then Seth, and in the early cartel days. Then she had started wrestling and turned face, and now she was just boring. WWE stood accused of taking everything that had been good about her character and throwing it in the trash for the sake of promoting a movie.

Feeling saddened in the extreme, Zelina tapped to go back. For some reason, she braved a look at the comments.

'Agreed. Zelina sucks as a wrestler, and she's not a face. That run was a disaster.'

'Said it since day one, turning her was retarded.'

'Best manager out there, not managing. That's WWE.'

That was enough for Zelina. She loaded the article back up and handed her phone to Seth so that he could read it. "This is without doubt the worst day I've had since I joined WWE," she said bitterly.

Seth took the phone and read through the article, looking more and more unhappy by the moment. "Oh, muñeca," he said quietly when he was done, giving her a gentle kiss. "The only thing that's true in there is that you're an amazing manager. But you're also great in the ring. You'll win them over with this thing with Ronda, whatever it's going to be."

Although she hoped that he was right, Zelina still found herself wondering if people had a point. She had seen and heard a lot of people waxing lyrical about her abilities as a manager. No one had done so about her wrestling. Maybe it really would be better if she went back to what had brought her to the dance?


	63. Chapter 63

"Alright, ladies," Hunter called out at the front of the conference room where all of the women on WWE's books who were not injured had been assembled prior to the first Smackdown episode after TLC. "Now that everyone's here, let's get down to business."

Zelina was standing with Bayley, Sonya and Ronda. Glancing at each other, none if them knew for sure what was going on, although they could make educated guesses.

"You're here because I have news to give you about our continued progress and commitment to the women's evolution in WWE. At Survivor Series, we're going to crown our first ever WWE Women's Tag Team Champions."

Joining in with everyone voicing their approval, Zelina looked at Ronda. It seemed obvious that they were going to be one of the teams involved, and they had to be contenders to win the whole thing. Ronda was somehow still yet to get her hands on WWE gold.

"Barrett and Paige will announce the new titles tonight, along with a tournament to determine the first winners," Hunter said once the noise died down. "I have a list of the teams we've decided to enter, which I will call out in a moment. Before I do, Nia, you're not involved because you're the Women's Champion, and Sonya, you're not involved for creative reasons."

"Creative reasons?" Sonya repeated, sounding understandably disappointed.

"Yes. You're going to be banned from entering as Bayley's partner by Paige because of all the interfering you've been doing in her matches."

"Okay," Sonya said, doing her best to put a brave face on it. Zelina felt sympathy for her friend. This was a big thing to sit out of due to a creative decision.

"If I'm not with Sonya, who am I with?" Bayley asked.

"You're with Becky." Hunter looked at the fiery redhead. "We think it's time for a heel turn for you, Becky."

Zelina watched Becky nod her agreement, then smile at Bayley. She had to agree that the Irishwoman needed a turn. Her face character was as stale as three week old bread.

"So that's pairing number one," Hunter said. "I'll read out the others now."

Zelina got ready to look around and judge people's reactions to their pairings.

"Carmella, Banks."

Seeing Carmella smile in approval, Zelina refused to look at Sasha. She could stick her opinion up her ass.

"Vega, Rousey."

Zelina looked at Ronda and grinned. She got a determined 'We're going to win this shit' look in return.

"Bliss, James."

No surprise there. Alexa and Mickie were already a team.

"Cross, Rose."

Zelina shared a sceptical look with Sonya. That really was an odd pairing. Probably a first round elimination.

"Brooke, Fox."

More fodder, Zelina thought.

"Natalya, Naomi."

Zelina liked that pairing of two women who had always been nice to her. They were already standing beside each other. As she watched them exchange a smile, she wished them more success than they were probably going to get.

"And last but not least, Ruby Riott and Sarah Logan."

Since Liv Morgan was out injured, that was another obvious one.

"So," Hunter went on, "That's eight teams, for four first round matches. There will be two of those matches tonight, with the other two next week. Then one semi final match on each of the remaining two Smackdown episodes before Survivor Series. The finals will of course take place there."

He went on to lay out the order of the first round matches. Zelina found out that she and Ronda were on the following week's show, meaning that tonight, there was nothing for them.

"Do we get to find out who the champions will be?" Ruby asked, more in hope than expectation.

Hunter grinned. "Now where would the fun be in that?"

There were murmurs of laughter around the room, before the boss dismissed them.

"That felt like a kick in the gut," Sonya said to the group of four friends once they were out in the hallway. "Sometimes it feels like all I'm here to do is beat people with a baton. I want to wrestle more."

Zelina gave her a sympathetic smile, realising that she wasn't the only one struggling with the way creative were using her at the moment.

"Your gimmick is badass," Ronda said positively. "You have a lot of heat, too. They're bound to give you something soon."

"Yeah, she's right," Zelina said, and Bayley added her agreement.

Sonya forced a smile. "Thanks, guys. Usually I enjoy myself whatever I'm doing, but to not be a part of this is rough."

"Given the choice, I would have teamed with you," Bayley said sweetly, but genuinely.

Now the smile on Sonya's face wasn't forced. Bayley could cheer anyone up with just a few words. "Thanks, Bay. But you and Becky will be interesting."

Bayley giggled. "Evil Bayley and evil Becky. Who would have thought that would ever be a thing?"

"Evil Bayley has been a revelation," Zelina said honestly. "You've killed it since your turn. If Becky can do the same, you guys will be amazing."

"I'd pick you to win it," Ronda said.

Zelina giggled. "Let's not go that far. Those belts are ours, girl."

They all had a laugh at that. By the time they got back to the locker room, Zelina felt in higher spirits than she had for the previous forty eight hours. TLC had been such a low point that it had felt almost impossible to pick herself up. But now, with the announcement that she and Ronda were going for the tag titles, she had something to look forward to.

However, on the other hand, she had something not to look forward to. David Hernandez's trial was only two weeks away, and was playing on her mind. For that reason, she decided to go to the men's locker room and find Seth. Thinking back to that awful afternoon still chilled her to the core. She had a strong need to be held and comforted by her man; to feel protected by him, which wasn't a common thing for her. But then, being tied up and almost raped by a total psychopath wasn't a common thing for her either.

After making her excuses to the other girls, she headed for the men's locker room. As was often the case, there was someone around to go in and fetch Seth for her. This time it was Finn Balor, the new WWE Champion.

"You after Seth?" he asked pleasantly, meaning the question as an offer to go and fetch him.

"Yeah," she smiled slightly. "Congrats on the title win."

"Thanks," Finn said with a smile of his own, before heading back into the locker room for her.

In just a few moments, Finn reappeared with Seth behind him, wearing his ring attire and his latest merchandise T-shirt. "Thank you," she said to the Irishman, before leading Seth away from the locker room.

"What's up, muñeca?" he asked, noting her odd behaviour.

Zelina looked through a glass pane in a door, seeing an empty office. "In here," she said, pushing the door open. As soon as Seth followed her inside, she hugged him tightly.

"Hey, what's up?" he asked, sensing that she was upset. He wrapped one arm around her and comfortingly stroked her hair with his other hand.

"I'm thinking about the trial, Seth. I'm dreading having to testify. The cross examination... I don't think I can deal with it. They're going to call me a liar and try and tear my story apart. It's only my word against his and..."

"Babe, stop," he said gently, interrupting her rambling. "It's not your word against his. There was evidence all over the house, and he was in there when Dan and Laura showed up. He went for Dan with a knife and ended up breaking his nose. Yes, the cross examination will be horrible, that's how they have to be. But you will get through it, muñeca. You will get through it."

That was why Zelina had gone to her man. She drew strength from him; felt love from him; felt protected by him.

"And I'll be there in the public gallery. If you find it getting too tough, what I want you to do is look at me for a second, and know that I'm there with you. I'll be there with you when they find that motherfucker guilty of everything he did to you and put him in a cage for the rest of his life."

"That's what I need," she mumbled.

"And that's what will happen," he promised. "So long as you testify, they'll find him guilty. I'm convinced of it. Plus Dan and Laura are both testifying."

Zelina didn't reply to that. She just stood there in his arms, taking comfort and strength from him. In silence, that was how they stayed for several minutes, until she felt able to take a deep breath and push the anxiety to the back of her mind. Pulling away from him, she said, "Thank you, baby. I needed that."

He kissed her on the forehead. "That's what I'm here for."

"I did get some good news," she told him with a weak smile, trying to move on.

"Oh?"

"Like we suspected, they're bringing in a Women's Tag Team Championship. There's a tournament, with the finals at Survivor Series. I'm teaming with Ronda. Our first round match is next week. If we win, our semi final will have to be the week before Survivor Series, since the trial is the week before that, and you and I won't be here."

"I'm glad your match is next week, not tonight," Seth said with a grin.

Zelina found his expression amusing, and chuckled. "Why?"

"Because we're on the United Kingdom tour next week, remember. The Raw crowd is going to be wild."

"Oh yeah," she said, eyes widening. "I remember the last time we were there. It was the really early cartel days, I think. I do remember thinking I would have loved to be wrestling in front of that crowd."

Glad that he had cheered her up, Seth leaned down and kissed her on the lips. "It'll be great. You'll love it."

"Thank you for making me feel better, baby. I really needed it just then. I can't wait until the trial is over. It'll be such a weight off my shoulders."

"I love you," he smiled lovingly. "Come on, let's get out of here. What do you say we go grab something to drink in catering?"

A cup of herbal tea sounded good to Zelina, so she nodded. "I love you too. Yeah, let's go do that."

When they walked into catering a couple of minutes later, Seth asked Zelina to grab them a table while he went to fix their drinks.

She walked over and took a seat at a table near the back of the room, where they might be able to talk in relative privacy. While she waited for him, she decided to check her Twitter.

"This again?" she muttered as a reaction to Twitter's selection of the top tweet about her. It was another dirt sheet article pushing the narrative that WWE should be using her as a manager, not a wrestler. Against her better judgement, she loaded up the article. It quoted 'a source within WWE' as saying that Zelina Vega might be heading back to managing in the near future, as that was clearly where she was best suited. The article went on to give the opinion that if they kept trying to use her as a wrestler, they were wasting one of the best talents they had unearthed in recent years.

That was something else that had been on her mind since TLC. Having been booked to lose to Nia so comprehensively, and not getting much of a reaction from the fans in the process, at least until Ronda had arrived, she had to wonder what was next for her.

She was in the awkward situation of not knowing what her own best option was. While it was true that she wanted to wrestle, she didn't want to find herself riding a train until the wheels fell off. If WWE didn't think she had what it took to compete at the highest level in the ring, and regarded her so highly as a manager, maybe it would be better to hitch her colours to that mast?

"There you go, muñeca," Seth said, setting her cup of tea down in front of her.

"Thank you," she said with a distracted smile. "Seth, be honest with me, do you think I'm better as a manager or a wrestler? Because I'm really unsure what direction I should be going in after TLC."

Seth sat down opposite her and took a moment to consider his answer. "You asked me to be honest, so I will," he said carefully. "You're better as a manager. But that's because you're so damn good as a manager, not because you're not good as a wrestler."

Zelina wasn't sure if that was the answer she had wanted to hear. However, she placed a lot of value in her man's opinion. "Okay, so if you were in my position, what would you do? I don't want to be used as a wrestler, end up being considered not good enough and find myself stuck in a position like Dana Brooke or someone like that. I'd rather ask Hunter to put me back in the role of managing the cartel than that."

Sipping his coffee, Seth considered an answer again. "Why don't you see how this goes with Ronda? If they put the belts on you, that shows they have faith in you. But again, I do think you're a truly outstanding manager. I don't think it's hype when people say you're the best in the business right now. I would say don't be afraid to ask if you can go back to management if it comes to that, because you're so damn good at it."

"And I suppose it's not like I can't still wrestle from time to time if I manage." It felt like she was almost talking herself into giving up on her career as a wrestler, but maybe it didn't have to come to that. "I agree with you, Seth," she decided. "If they put the belts on Ronda and I, great. If not, I need to have a chat with Hunter and see what he really thinks I should do. At least I know I can trust him to be honest with me."

Seth reached over and took her hand. "Yeah, you can. But let's worry about crossing that bridge if we have to cross it. You've not even debuted with Ronda yet."

Managing a smile, she said, "Yeah. That's something to look forward to."


	64. Chapter 64

The Raw episode that was being taped in England should have been something for Zelina to look forward to. Indeed, on a base level, she had been looking forward to it. After all, she was going to debut as part of a tag team with Ronda Rousey; a team that she knew the fans were hyped up for.

However, in recent days, her mind simply hadn't been on her game the way it usually was. She realised that she was having something of a crisis of confidence when it came to her wrestling. Despite Seth being as supportive as ever, the fact that so many people seemed to view the fact that she was wrestling, not managing as a huge mistake on WWE's part had gotten into her head.

Working house shows during the past week, she had found herself not enjoying her matches at all. She had been conscious the whole time of making a mistake, however small, imagining that if she did the immediate reaction would be, 'There you go, Vega sucks. She has no business in the ring.' It was a truly awful mind set to be in, but she couldn't snap out of it.

It hadn't helped that she was also faced with the prospect of testifying at David Hernandez's trial. That was another huge negative figuratively weighing on her shoulders, and literally weighing on her mind. Usually a positive and happy person, she couldn't remember the last time she had been this low.

Improbably, things had been able to get even worse. In the first round match of the Women's Tag Team Championship tournament, Zelina and Ronda had been booked against the team of Sasha Banks and Carmella. It was the first time Zelina had been required to work a televised match with Sasha, and the preparation meeting between the four women and Sam Monte, the road agent, had been particularly unpleasant. Banks had displayed her usual terrible attitude, trying to shoot down any suggestion Zelina had made. It had made everyone uncomfortable, and it had made Zelina feel belittled in front of Ronda and Carmella. By the end of the meeting, she had been glad just to get out of there. Looking back on it, she figured that ordinarily she would put Sasha in her place, but the willingness just hadn't been there. She had just sat there and taken it. Banks must have loved every minute of it.

Now, standing behind the curtain before their segment, Zelina tried to get her head in the game. Her music was first to be played. The loud ovation she got from the boisterous crowd lifted her spirits a little. She walked through the curtain and acknowledged the fans, trying to look hyped up for the match and excited to be there as she made her way to the ring.

Once she was in the ring, Ronda's music hit, and the roof nearly came off the arena. She really was getting over big time. Zelina found herself wondering if she was going to prove to be a hindrance to that now that they were a team.

Ronda marched to the ring, not acknowledging anyone in the crowd, since she was in fight mode. She got into the ring and exchanged a fist bump with Zelina.

"At least they're cheering us," Zelina said to her partner as Carmella's music hit.

Ronda gave her a quizzical look for a second. "Of course they are. Did you think they wouldn't?"

Zelina just shrugged, thinking who knew what was going to happen anymore.

Carmella made her entrance, followed by Sasha. Ronda started the match for Zelina's team, leaving her to stand in the corner for the first five minutes of the match. Despite also being faces, Carmella and Sasha had been assigned to work this particular match as the heel team, isolating Ronda in the ring by manipulating the referee and breaking the rules whenever they could.

When the time eventually came for Zelina to get a hot tag, she found herself going through that same awful thing in her mind, telling herself over and over, "Don't fuck up. Don't fuck up."

Ronda tagged her, and she ran into the ring, hitting some fast-paced clotheslines and dropkicks on both opponents. Sasha was the legal member for her team. Zelina got a near fall after a backbreaker, then it was Sasha's turn to counter and get in some offense.

After taking a couple of moves, Zelina was thrown through the middle rope to the outside, in front of the entrance ramp. Getting up slowly, she knew that Sasha would be hitting the ropes on the opposite side of the ring, ready to suicide dive through the ropes onto her.

"Catch her. Don't fuck up."

Sasha came flying through the middle rope, and Zelina caught her exactly as she should have done, supporting her as they both went down to the floor.

Pulling that off gave her a small injection of confidence. She fought with Sasha on the outside for a minute, before the action returned to the ring. Now it was the face team's turn to have the upper hand. Zelina found herself enjoying the match for the first time. After hitting a float over DDT on Sasha, Zelina tagged out.

The fans loudly cheered Ronda back into the ring, then Zelina heard a song breaking out. It quickly caught on, and within thirty seconds or so, most of the crowd were joining in. It was a song that had been directed at Sheamus and Cesaro in the past. This time, it was, "Ronda and Zelina, da da da dada!' The fans were dancing along to the tune.

As the song grew in volume, Zelina felt it literally sucking the negativity out of her. These fans were not against her. They didn't think she sucked. They didn't think she should be standing outside the ring cheering her on. They felt like she belonged exactly where she was; on the apron as Ronda's partner. It was a profound moment that she knew she would never forget. This crowd of people had figuratively picked her up off the floor and got her back on her feet.

So what if I am a great manager, she thought, with renewed determination. "I'm a fucking wrestler now," she muttered to herself.

Ronda brought Sasha over to their corner to make a tag. As they slapped hands, Zelina was given an ovation similar to Ronda's. The song continued. Zelina knocked Sasha down, then joined in with the fans by dancing, and pointing to Ronda and then herself at the correct times. She got another cheer for it. The fans were partying as much as much as watching the show.

A few moments later, Zelina tagged Ronda in again. To everyone's surprise, including Zelina's, Ronda repeated the act of joining in with the dancing and pointing. It was so out of the ordinary for Ronda when she was in fight mode that it drew the biggest cheer of the night.

Eventually, the fans tired of the singing. But when Ronda beat Carmella with an armbar a few minutes later, the song started up again during the victory celebrations.

"I've never experienced anything like that in my life," Ronda laughed as they left the ring together, with Raw now on a commercial break.

"I needed it so much," Zelina said, feeling incredibly emotional. "I've been so low on confidence these past couple of weeks."

Ronda looked bewildered. "Low on confidence? Are you for real? You had a squash match in front of that fucking graveyard crowd at TLC at you've lost your confidence? People love you, Zel. I love you. And don't you fucking forget it."

Smiling, Zelina took in that unique brand of Rousey advice on-board. Feeling revitalised by the experience she had just been through, she led the way through the curtain to the back. She found Hunter standing there waiting for her in Gorilla, while Vince handled producing the show.

"Zelina, come here," Hunter said, gesturing off to one side with his head.

She followed him without saying anything, wondering what he wanted her for. Her confidence began ebb once more.

"What's going on with you?" the boss asked gently when they had a bit of privacy. "The first half of that match, you looked terrified out there. You looked like someone having their first match or something."

Zelina decided to front up and tell him what had been on her mind. At least she would get to find out where she stood with him. "I've been really struggling for confidence," she admitted. "I got injured at Hell in a Cell, you had me drop to Nia in a squash, and all I keep reading online is how I suck as a wrestler; you're wasting me; I should be a manager. 'Sources within WWE' agree, apparently."

Hunter put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "There's only a couple of things I would change about how we're using you, Zelina. Since Summerslam, I've realised I would rather you were a heel. It's a better fit for you, despite that." He pointed in the direction of the arena, meaning the insane reaction she and Ronda had just received. "I've also expressed the fact that I would like you to have more mic time because your promo work is exceptional. That's maybe where those rumours came from. But having you go back to managing? No, you're past that. You're better than that. Take it from me, you belong in that ring, wrestling. And anyone online or anywhere else that says otherwise? Fuck 'em. If I've got a problem with the work you're doing for this company, you'll be the first to know about it, and you'll know about it directly from me. Besides, do you think I'd be standing here right now if I listened every time someone talked shit about me over the years? Of course I wouldn't. Ignore it, and keep doing what you're doing. You got that?"

"Yeah," Zelina replied, now feeling like she had been a complete idiot. Of course he was right about ignoring negativity and stupid rumours on social media. How had she fallen down that rabbit hole? "I'm sorry, it's just this damned trial next week. My head is a mess, Hunter. I'm sorry."

"I understand," he said compassionately. "But you're going to help put that son of bitch away, Zelina. Then you're going to come back here and tear this place up, you hear me?"

"I hear you," she assured him with determination.

"Good," he smiled. "Now, as I said, having tried you in both roles, I'd rather you were working as a heel. But there are two problems with that. Firstly, it's not been all that long since we turned you face. We don't want to look like we're flip flopping. And second, turning you and Ronda would leave us short of credible face characters and stacked with heels. We're looking at pushing Nattie and Naomi a bit harder, and we're going to put a face turn on Alexa, but that'll take time of course."

Zelina nodded. "Of course. Thanks for telling me all of that. I feel a lot more reassured about my standing now."

"Okay then," he said pleasantly, before gesturing in the direction of the locker rooms. "Go hit the showers."

The contrast between how she felt walking out of Gorilla and how she had felt walking in there before the match was unreal. Her confidence was back. So what if she wasn't the Women's Champion anymore? She hadn't expected to hold it forever. She had been chosen to partner Ronda Rousey now, which was a very big deal, and they might well be the first holder of the new tag titles. Even if they were not the first, they would surely hold them at some point.

Up ahead, she saw Sasha Banks standing in the hallway, obviously waiting for her. "You owe me, Vega, putting you over like that," she chirped, trying for a reaction.

Remembering Nia's advice from a few weeks before, Zelina walked straight past her rival without saying anything or making eye contact.

"Hey, I'm talking to you!" Sasha objected. "Are you deaf as well as talentless?"

Grinning, Zelina enjoyed the way Sasha had spoken the final sentence. She sounded like she had known it wasn't going to be responded to before she had said it.

Walking into the women's locker room a moment later, Zelina was greeted by Bayley, who came jogging over to her, looking delighted.

"Look at that smile! There's my Zel! You've looked so down all week."

"Aww, thanks, Bay," Zelina said as they hugged each other tightly. "I've just had a lot on my mind. You know, with next week and all."

"I can't even imagine how hard it is," Bayley said quietly. "But you'll get through it, I know you will. That guy is going to get what he deserves for what he did to you. You were so brave telling us about it on the bus the other day. I couldn't believe you went through all of that back then and came right back to work, and none of us had a clue what had happened. You're so brave and so strong, Zel. Remember that in that courtroom. I wish I could be there to support you, but I'll be there in spirit, and so will Daga. We love you."

"Oh, Bay, that's so sweet. I'm blessed to have you guys as friends," Zelina said tearfully. She decided to make a spur of the moment invitation. "Sometime soon, Seth and I would love to have you guys come down and stay with us for a night or two. We've got the house straightened out now after I moved in, so, yeah, we'd love to have you, if you'll come?"

They parted as Bayley said, "Of course we'll come. We'd love to. Thank you for inviting us."

"We can celebrate David being found guilty," Zelina said with a hard edge to her voice.

Bayley nodded seriously. "Amen to that."

After walking over to her locker, Zelina picked up her phone and went straight onto Twitter. There was something she had to do. Pressing the icon to create a new tweet, she typed out a short but heartfelt message:  _Thank you, Birmingham. I needed that._  She added a praying emoji to further express her gratitude, then pressed send.


	65. Chapter 65

The trial of David Hernandez didn't promise to be a particularly long affair. On the first day, the prosecution and defence councils had made their opening statements, and the police officer in charge of the case had presented the evidence that had been gathered during their investigation. It had entailed pictures from the crime scene at Zelina's house, pictures of a wall covered in printed out photographs of her in David's place, and records of his internet searches, showing step by step how he had managed to track down her home address.

Day two was the one Zelina had been dreading. It was the day of the witness testimonies, and she was going to be the first to take the stand. She had been briefed by the prosecution council on what to expect, both procedurally and in terms of what the defence council might ask her in cross examination. That was going to be the worst part of the whole thing.

After Zelina's testimony, Dan and Laura Morton would also take the stand, followed by David's chance to speak in his defence. That would round out day two.

Day three would be the closing statements by both councils, followed by the jury adjourning to consider their verdict. Assuming they reached one, and assuming the verdict was guilty, David would be handed his sentence. When Zelina had questioned the prosecution council, a middle-aged man with salt and pepper hair who she knew as Mr Ryan, she had been stunned and horrified to learn that David only faced a maximum of eight years for what he had done to her.

"Eight fucking years?" Seth had exploded, before Ryan had managed to calm him down.

The explanation had been that none of the crimes that David had committed on that dreadful day carried much of a sentence, since he hadn't actually raped her or physically harmed her. He was up for breaching a restraining order; breaking and entering, for forcing his way into her house; false imprisonment, for tying her to the bed; aggravated assault, for holding the knife to her throat and threatening to kill her; and battery, for punching Dan in the face and breaking his nose.

"All of that only adds up to eight years?" Zelina had asked in disbelief.

"At most, if he's found guilty of all charges," had been the reply.

Now, having been summoned to enter the courtroom, Zelina found herself thinking that if eight years was the maximum he could get, then she wanted to make sure that he fucking well got eight years. Even with that determination, she felt her heart pounding in her chest, and nerves to the point where she thought she might throw up.

As she approached the door into the courtroom, which was being held open for her by an usher, things started to go in slow motion. When she walked through that door, she would see David again for the first time since that day. The very thought of it made her hands start shaking. No matter how much Seth had tried to convince her there was nothing to be scared of now, that man and what he had put her through terrified her to the core.

The usher gave her something resembling a reassuring smile, then she walked into the courtroom. It was smaller than she had expected, based on what she had seen on TV shows. This room had the judge's seat just to the right of the witness box she had just walked into, with seating areas for the prosecution and defence teams opposite the judge. The seating in both areas was mostly empty for this case.

And there he was. Zelina's blood ran cold when she made eye contact with David, and she quickly looked away. He was in the dock, which was behind the defence's seating area, with a police officer sitting either side of him.

To the right of the judge was the seating area for the jury. All of them were looking at her. She imagined they were trying to get a first impression of whether she looked like a victim or a liar. She hoped that she conveyed the right image in the black suit and white blouse that she had bought for the occasion. Suits were not usually her thing at all, but it felt like the correct thing to wear to court.

Lastly, in a raised area behind the prosecution team's seating area was the public gallery. Zelina saw Seth there, giving her a supportive smile, along with her mom and her brother, who were doing the same. There were another couple of people in the gallery, but she had no clue who they were. Press, maybe?

Her attention was drawn to the man who was going to swear her in. She had forgotten what Mr Ryan had described him as. It didn't matter anyway. She confirmed her identity for the court, and was then told to raise her right hand. She was given the oath to repeat.

"I swear that I will tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help me, God."

The judge spoke next, with no particular emotion. He was an old guy with a gravelly voice that betrayed his many years of smoking. "Sit down, Ms Vega."

Zelina did as instructed, subconsciously checking her left pocket, where she had put the handkerchief that her mom had given her in case giving her testimony made her cry. It was highly likely to.

"Mr Ryan," the judge said, turning the proceedings over to the prosecution.

Ryan stood up, walked around to the front of his desk and sat down on the edge of it. There was an almost friendly air about him. He was doing his best to make her feel like this was an informal chat over a cup of coffee rather than a testimony about to be given in court. Zelina appreciated the effort, but it wasn't working.

"Ms Vega, or can I call you Zelina?" he began, using it as a way to ease her into things.

"Yes," she replied nervously.

"Zelina, is it true that on May 9th of this year, you were in possession of a restraining order against David Hernandez?"

"Yes it is," she confirmed, trying to sound sure of herself, but not cocky or arrogant. Every answer was going to be difficult, no matter how simple the question.

"The restraining order you were granted stated that Mr Hernandez was not to come within fifty feet of you. Is that correct?"

Zelina nodded. "It is."

"Are you aware of any other restraining orders being in effect against Mr Hernandez at that time?"

"Yes."

"What other restraining order are you aware of?" Ryan prompted.

"The company I work for had one against him, stopping him from showing up at any of our events."

"I see," Ryan said sagely, although he had of course known the facts for a long time. His reaction was part of the theatrics that were being put on for the jury. "You asked your employer to take out that restraining order, did you not?"

"I did."

"And why was that, Zelina?"

She took in a deep breath. "Because David showed up at a signing I was doing. He approached the table and started saying he wanted to talk to me, that it had been too long, that kind of thing."

"And what was your reaction?"

"I was stunned for a moment, that he was there in front of me. It had been more than seven years. When I processed that it really was David, I got up and ran away."

"And security escorted Mr Hernandez from the building, is that right?"

"I believe so, yes."

"Objection," the defence council cut in, standing up. "We're not here to listen to what Ms Vega believes happened."

Taken aback, Zelina looked at the man closely for the first time. He was bald, in his forties, she guessed. He looked to be Pakistani or Indian.

The judge considered the objection for a second, then looked at Zelina. "Ms Vega, do you believe Mr Hernandez was escorted from the building, or do you know it for a fact?"

"I know it for a fact," she assured him, angry at herself for her choice of wording.

"Please try and be clearer with your answers," the judge requested, before turning back to the defence council. "Objection overruled, Mr Khan."

Ryan took that as his cue to continue questioning her. "Zelina, why were you so scared when you saw Mr Hernandez?"

"Because the last time I saw him, he... uh..." she faltered, feeling her hands start shaking again. She swallowed hard and managed to say, "He raped me."

"You were raped by Mr Hernandez?" Ryan asked, wanting clear confirmation of that accusation for the jury.

"Yes," Zelina said, looking down, feeling ashamed of herself.

"When did this happen, Zelina?"

She took a deep breath, trying to find some small amount of composure. "I was nineteen, so it would have been eight years ago."

"Can you describe to me what happened when Mr Hernandez attacked you that day?"

The defence council stood up again. "Objection. Relevance."

"Mr Ryan?" The judge asked with a slight raise of his eyebrows.

"Your honour, I'm trying to establish a pattern between the attack that Ms Vega was the victim of on May 9th of this year, the violent rape which Mr Hernandez was previously convicted of, and the previous attack that Ms Vega also suffered at his hands."

"Very well, proceed. Objection overruled."

"Please continue, Zelina," Ryan said gently.

Zelina glanced at Seth in the public gallery, looking for the support that he had promised she would find if she needed it. He gave her a reassuring nod, encouraging her to answer the question. "Uh, we had been out at a party, and we'd both been drinking. I'd had a few beers, but I wasn't really drunk. David had been going at it harder than me. He was pretty wrecked…" She paused to correct that choice of word. "I mean drunk. He was drunk. We went back to his place, and he wanted sex. There was something about his demeanour that put me off, so I said I wasn't in the mood. He wasn't interested in listening to that; he just kept putting his hands on me and kissing me. I was starting to get freaked out, so I told him no. I quite clearly said no."

Reliving the experience had her hands shaking again. When she had described saying no, her voice had cracked.

"Take your time, Zelina," Ryan said compassionately.

"Come on, get it together," she told herself. She hadn't even started on the difficult part yet. Going through the more recent attack was going to be a lot worse than this. With renewed determination, she pressed on with the story.

"I told him no, and that's when he changed. He got really angry with me and told me not to tell him no. I was frightened, so I decided to get up and leave. I didn't even make it off the bed before he grabbed hold of me and threw me back down. I had landed on my front, and he pinned me down. It was like he was possessed or something. He started calling me names and abusing me. I was trying to fight him off, but he was too strong for me. He said, 'Fine, if that's the way you want to be,' and he tied my hands behind my back."

She subconsciously took the handkerchief out of her pocket and started playing with it in her hands as she went on. "I was so scared, I totally froze. I couldn't have fought him off even if I hadn't been tied. I somehow managed to yell for help, but he put his hand over my mouth and told me to shut the fuck up. Oh, can I say that?"

"Just tell us what happened," Ryan encouraged.

"I had been wearing some knee high socks when we were at the party, and I had taken them off when we went into the bedroom. David picked one of them up and used it to gag me. He stuffed my mouth full with it, then tied it around my head. I could barely breathe, let alone cry out loudly enough for anyone to hear me. That's when he… when he… raped me."

Feeling tears stinging her eyes, she wiped them with the handkerchief.

"I know this isn't easy, Zelina," Ryan said. "But I now need you to describe to me what happened on May 9th, please."

Zelina closed her eyes for a second as she started trembling. She didn't want to be doing it, but she couldn't help it. When she opened her eyes again, she looked at Seth. There was only love in his eyes. He knew how hard this was for her, but he also knew she could do it.

"You can do it," he mouthed, seemingly having read her mind.

She took a deep breath, and began. "I had just arrived home. We're on the road a lot in my job. I had a case full of clothes to wash, so I got that going first of all. Then I made a cup of tea and sat down in front of the TV to relax for a while."

She noticed Mr Khan looking twitchy. Fearing an objection coming at any second, she got to the point. "All of a sudden, I sensed someone in the room with me. You know how you get that feeling?"

Ryan nodded, encouraging her to continue.

"I turned around, and David was standing there in the doorway to the kitchen. I'll never forget how scared I felt in that moment when I saw him there, in my house. I couldn't believe it was happening, but I knew it was. I leapt up and tried to run. I wanted to get out of the front door and scream for help. But I didn't even make it out of the living room," she said, looking down as the fear of that moment gripped her once more.

"I need you to speak up, please," Ryan said gently.

Zelina looked up and cleared her throat. "Sorry. I hadn't even made it out of the living room before he grabbed me from behind. I tried to scream, but he covered my mouth with his hand. He was dragging me back into the living room. I didn't know what he was going to do, but I felt like I was fighting for my life. I struggled as much as I could, and I kept trying to scream. I managed to get my feet up on the couch, and I pushed myself off it, just in desperation. That's all I remember. But I know we fell through my coffee table. I must have been knocked out by the fall, hitting my head on the table."

Ryan had a sympathetic expression on his face. She looked up at Seth again. "You're doing great," he mouthed.

"When I woke up, my head was pounding. It took me a few seconds to come to my senses. I realised that I was tied up. There were strips of something tying my ankles to the frame at the bottom of the bed, and my ankles were taped together. My wrists were tied to the frame with the same kind of strips, up where I couldn't reach them, and there was a bunch of tape around each one. I literally couldn't move. My wrists were tied so tight the circulation was cut off. And I was gagged. There was tape wrapped around and around my head, so tight I couldn't breathe. I was so panicked, I was hyperventilating. I tried to cry out, but I knew no one would hear me with all that tape over my mouth."

"That must have been terrifying?" Ryan asked.

She used the interjection to wipe her eyes again. "It was. I was sure I was going to be raped, then killed or abducted."

"Was Mr Hernandez in the room with you?"

"When I woke up, no. But he came in within a couple of minutes. He sat down next to me and he was talking about wanting us to live together. I was so scared, I can't remember really what he was saying. All I could think about was that I had to survive. I had to live, so that I could see my boyfriend and my family again."

She sniffed loudly, only just managing not to burst into tears. "I knew that I needed to be able to talk; to beg for my life or to tell David what he wanted to hear; anything to try and get free. I started talking into my gag and eventually he took it off."

"And what did you tell him?" Ryan prompted.

"I told him that I would live with him if that was what he wanted. Like I said, I knew I had to do anything to try and tell him what he wanted to hear if I wanted him to untie me. He made me say that I would leave Seth, my boyfriend, for him. That's when I messed up. I tried too hard, and said that I never cared about Seth in the first place."

Embarrassed, she looked to Seth for forgiveness. He mouthed, "I love you, muñeca."

That gave her the strength to continue. "David totally lost his mind. He grabbed one of my kitchen knives that he had left on the nightstand. He put it to my throat and called me a lying fucking whore. He said he should kill me right then and there. I thought was where I was going to die. But then he said he couldn't kill me because we had to be together. He made me stay still while he gagged me with the duct tape again. I knew he was going to rape me. I was crying. I was totally defenceless. He used the knife to cut the tape binding my ankles, then he cut my underwear off me. I was trying to beg him not to do it."

Pausing again, she wiped tears from her eyes. "That's when I heard someone knocking on my front door. David threatened me with the knife, telling me not to dare making a sound. But I realised this was my one chance to escape. I had to do my best to get whoever was at the door to help me. I screamed as loud as I could. Even with the tape, Dan and Laura heard me."

"They are your friends, right?" Ryan asked.

"Yes. They had come over to see me. I didn't know it was them, though. I just heard someone start kicking the door in. David ran down there with the knife. I heard a fight going on, then I heard something smash. That was Laura hitting David with a lamp. Then Dan came running up the stairs and rescued me."

"Thank you, Zelina," Ryan said tenderly as she breathed a huge sigh of relief at having gotten through the story. "When the paramedics arrived, they had to sedate you, is that correct?"

"Yes. I went into a full-blown panic attack. I didn't know where I was or what was going on. I don't remember much of it. I was taken to the hospital and kept on sedation overnight."

Ryan got up off the edge of the desk and addressed the judge. "No further questions, your honour."

Zelina looked over at the jury. Some of their faces were expressionless. Other's looked horrified by the story they had just heard.

Now it was time for the moment she had really been dreading most of all; the cross examination.


	66. Chapter 66

"Mr Khan," the judge said, handing the floor to David's defence council for the cross examination of Zelina.

Khan stood up and walked around his desk with a curious expression on his face. "Ms Vega, you mentioned in the evidence you just gave an alleged rape that took place eight years ago. Strange, is it not, that yesterday's opening statement by the prosecution is the first anyone has ever heard of it?"

"No, it's not strange at all," Zelina replied evenly, knowing that one of Khan's top priorities would be to get under her skin with his questions. "I was too scared to go to the police. I was afraid for my life that night when I ran from David's house."

"Your family must have urged you to go to the police, surely?"

"I didn't tell my family about it. I didn't tell anyone for a very long time."

Khan paced across the floor, making sure to look at the jury as he said, "Convenient. So we have an alleged crime that there is no evidence of other than your word, and you didn't tell anyone about it at the time." He turned back to face Zelina. "The truth is, you're lying, aren't you, Ms Vega?"

"No!" Zelina insisted strongly, but Khan didn't give her a moment.

"The truth is, you found out about Mr Hernandez's past conviction and decided to pretend you had been the victim of a similar crime, isn't it?"

"No! He raped me!" Zelina said vehemently. "He tied me up, gagged me and raped me, just like he did to that other girl, and like he was going to do me again that afternoon this year!"

"But there is no evidence of anything you allege about this supposed previous attack, is there?"

"Objection," Mr Ryan said, standing up. "Harassing the witness. We've already established that there is no evidence of the previous attack apart from Ms Vega's word, and she already answered the question."

"Sustained," the judge said. "Next question, Mr Khan."

Khan nodded his acknowledgement and paced the floor again for a moment. When it came, the next question took Zelina by surprise. "What do you do for a living, Ms Vega?"

"I'm a wrestler."

Khan raised his eyebrows in surprise, as if the fact was new to him. "A wrestler? That's an interesting job. So, your work involves you throwing other women around a ring?"

"Yes," she replied a little cautiously, not knowing where this was going.

"Women that are much bigger than you, presumably? No offense, but you're on the short side."

"Yes, some of them are bigger than me," Zelina confirmed testily.

"Would you say it was fair to describe some of these women as six feet tall? Big, muscular ladies?"

"Yes."

Khan looked at her as if she had just fallen into a trap, but she didn't know what trap it could be. She soon found out.

"So, why is it, if you specialise in throwing tall, muscular people around a wrestling ring; people much bigger than yourself, you claim to have been so incapable of fighting off Mr Hernandez? It doesn't ring true, does it?"

"Of course it rings true," Zelina snapped. "He grabbed me from behind. He had me in a waist lock, and he had his hand over my mouth. I tried to get free as best I could; that's how we ended up falling through the coffee table."

Khan seemed to ignore her response. "What I believe, Ms Vega, is that there was no fight; there was no struggle."

"Objection," Ryan said, standing up again. He didn't need to give a reason, for the judge spoke straight away.

"Sustained. Ask a question, Mr Khan."

Khan turned and looked at Zelina again. "Where was your boyfriend, Seth Rollins, on the afternoon of May 9th, Ms Vega?"

The way the questions seemed be lurching all over the place had Zelina on the back foot, which was, of course, the exact motive behind it. "Uh, he was in New York, for a TV appearance."

Khan nodded, seeming satisfied with that answer. "At that time, Seth had a strong disliking of Mr Hernandez, did he not?"

"Of course he did. I had told Seth about David raping me."

"Hmmm," Khan said doubtfully. "Mr Hernandez tells a different story. He claims that you were delighted to reconnect with him after so many years, following the collapse of your previous relationship. He claims that it was actually Mr Rollins who pushed WWE to obtain a restraining order against him, out of a sense of insecurity about your commitment to the relationship you were in."

"That's... ridiculous," Zelina spat, having refrained from saying bullshit at the last moment.

"Is it? Because I presented video evidence to the court yesterday showing Mr Rollins behaving very aggressively towards Mr Hernandez outside a hotel. Indeed, in that video you were seen to be holding Mr Rollins back, in an attempt to prevent what looked like a violent altercation taking place."

Zelina was getting fired up now by the line of convoluted bullshit that this guy was spinning. "I assume your video evidence didn't show what happened before that, when I tried to run from David and tripped over my own travel case? Seth was acting in my defence."

"Acting in your defence," Khan said slowly, as if seeing how those words tasted in his mouth. "What had Mr Hernandez done that day to suggest that your safety was in danger?"

"That day? Nothing, I suppose, but..."

"Nothing," Khan said, delighted. "Mr Hernandez had done nothing to threaten you, yet Mr Rollins was willing to behave violently towards him."

"Look, what don't you understand about the fact that I didn't want David near me?" Zelina demanded heatedly. "He attacked me. He raped me. He was stalking me at a hotel. I asked WWE to take out the restraining order, then I took one out myself. I did that because I was scared of him!"

Take that, you bastard, Zelina thought, knowing that she had scored a point with that answer.

"Let's return to the subject of May 9th this year," Khan said, resuming his pacing. "We've heard your version of what happened that afternoon. Mr Hernandez's version is somewhat different."

"Yeah, I'd imagine it would be," she said acidly.

"Ms Vega," the judge said in a warning tone, not happy that she had spoken out of turn.

"Sorry, your honour," she said humbly, raging at herself for the slip up. The last thing she needed to do was look cocky in front of the jury.

Mr Khan proceeded with no reaction to her mistake. The judge had already highlighted it. "Ms Vega, Mr Hernandez has entered a guilty plea to the charge of violating a restraining order by coming within fifty feet of you, and admits to using the internet to obtain your address. However, he claims that when he reached your residence, he got cold feet and intended to leave. But then you, having seen him, opened the door and invited him into your house."

"What?" Zelina exclaimed, incredulous. "I did not invite him into my house! He broke in and attacked me!"

As was becoming the pattern, Khan didn't condition his next statement to her previous response in any way. "Mr Hernandez states that you welcomed him into your house, saying that it would be okay because Seth was out of town and wouldn't know about it."

Zelina exploded out of her chair, her fiery temper in times of confrontation coming to the fore. "I didn't welcome him into my fucking house!"

The judge quickly and sternly reprimanded her. "Sit down, Ms Vega. Your behaviour and language are inappropriate for this courtroom."

Chastised, Zelina sat back down. She looked over at Seth for the first time during the cross examination. His eyes were pleading with her to keep her cool. "Calm down, muñeca," he mouthed to her.

Khan pressed on, like a shark scenting blood in the water. "Mr Hernandez's version of events is that you invited him into your house and you discussed your relationship with Seth. Your professed unhappiness, saying that Seth was very controlling of you, with the restraining order being just one example. Is that true?"

"No. That's all lies," she insisted, temper in check this time, but sounding as flustered as she felt.

"Mr Hernandez also acknowledges that you were found bound and gagged on your bed by Mr Daniel Morton. However, he states that it was consensual on your part, as you had always enjoyed bondage as an aid to a more enjoyable sexual experience."

Zelina was repulsed by that suggestion. "More lies. I was attacked and knocked unconscious. I woke up tied to the bed, and there was nothing I could do about it."

"But then your little game went wrong, didn't it, Ms Vega? Because your friends showed up, and, believing you were in genuine distress, broke into your house. Mr Hernandez heard the door being kicked in an assumed you were being robbed, so he went downstairs to confront the intruders."

"That's not how it was at all," Zelina insisted. "This is all fabricated nonsense."

Khan walked over to stand right in front of the witness box. "Interesting that you chose to use the word fabricated. Because I put it to you that that's exactly what you did after Mrs Laura Morton assaulted Mr Hernandez with a lamp. You got together with your two friends before the police arrived and agreed on a fabricated story that you were going use to make Mr Hernandez look like the guilty party in the whole sordid affair, instead of yourself, didn't you?"

"I was having a panic attack by the time the police arrived!" Zelina snapped at him.

"So you claim. The truth is, you're a liar, Ms Vega. You faked the panic attack, and everything we heard you tell Mr Ryan earlier was untrue, wasn't it?"

"No!"

"Your claim to have been raped by Mr Hernandez eight years ago is also a lie, isn't it?"

"No!" Zelina insisted even more strongly.

"You're a liar, aren't you, Ms Vega?" Khan demanded, almost leaning into the witness box.

"Objection!" Ryan exclaimed. "Ms Vega already answered that question."

"Overruled," the judge replied. "That question has not been asked previously." He turned to look at Zelina. "Answer the question, Ms Vega. Are you a liar?"

Zelina looked around the courtroom, suddenly feeling like no one was going to believe her answer. "No, I'm not a liar."

Looking a lot less than convinced, Khan turned away and headed back towards his desk. "No further questions, your honour."


	67. Chapter 67

As the victim in the case, Zelina had not been allowed into the public gallery during the second day, after giving her testimony. But now, on day three, after both the prosecution and defence had given their closing statements and the jury had retired to consider their verdict, she was allowed to accompany Seth and her family back into the courtroom to hear the what the outcome was going to be.

They had just been admitted back into the room. The announcement had come through that the jury had reached a verdict, after less than two hours of deliberation.

"I'm really worried that it didn't take them long," she quietly said to Seth as they took their seats in the gallery.

"Babe, they could have found the son of a bitch guilty in five minutes. It was obvious their defence was all bullshit, and that guy Khan was just trying to provoke you and bully you."

"But he did provoke me," she mumbled, angry at herself for losing her cool under Khan's questioning and accusations of being a liar.

If the jury had viewed her heated reaction as confirmation that her story had indeed been fabricated in conjunction with Dan and Laura Morton, then the case could collapse. David could walk out of the court a free man. Then where would she be? He could come after her again; stalk her again; attack her again. Her blood ran cold at the thought.

"It's obvious to us that David's story is bullshit, but we already know it is," she pointed out. "The jury knew nothing about either of us until a couple of days ago. What if they found him more believable than me?"

"Surely they can't have found him not guilty?" Zelina's mom said, sitting to the other side of her.

"No chance," her brother said, sitting at the end of the row of seats, next to their mom. "He has a previous conviction for doing the same thing to someone else, for God's sake."

Zelina looked over at the jury, who were already back in their seating area. That group of people were about to lift an enormous weight from her shoulders, or ruin her life. She took Seth's hand and said a short prayer in her head. Justice was all she wanted. She felt like she deserved it after what she had been through. In her mind, even an eight year sentence wouldn't be true justice.

"All rise," a voice called out.

Still holding Seth's hand, Zelina joined everyone else in getting to their feet to await the arrival of the judge. He walked into the room a moment later. After taking his seat, everyone else was permitted to sit back down.

Next, the chairman of the jury was asked to stand. Zelina looked at him, wondering what news he had to give. Whatever it was, it couldn't be changed now, by either her or David. The chairman was a blonde man, maybe in his early forties, she guessed.

"Have you reached a verdict?" he was asked by the judge.

"Yes, your honour. We have reached a majority verdict."

Zelina squeezed Seth's hand in a vice-like grip. It felt like her heart had just stopped beating. At least one jury member had sided with David. The question now was how many?

"With regard to the charge of aggravated assault, do you find the defendant guilty, or not guilty?"

"Please," Zelina breathed, closing her eyes. She couldn't bear to watch.


	68. Chapter 68

For the first time in months, Zelina felt totally unburdened by any form of negativity prior to working a WWE show. The end of David Hernandez's trial had brought her the thing that she had needed most of all: closure.

Only now that the weight that had been weighing on her since the attack had been lifted did she fully realise how oppressive it had been. She felt like a totally new person now. Actually, no, she thought. She felt like Zelina again.

Since arriving in the locker room before Smackdown, she hadn't been sitting around thinking about what was going to happen on the show, or lingering on the periphery of the conversation among the girls; she had been at the centre of things, cracking jokes and having a great time.

The change hadn't gone unnoticed. Just after Zelina went back over to her locker to check her phone, Bayley came and joined her. "Come here," she said, spreading her arms, offering a hug.

Zelina hugged her, a little surprised by the gesture. "You okay, Bay?"

"Yeah. It's just lovely to have my Zel back. I love you, girl."

Feeling her heart melting, Zelina squeezed her friend tightly. "Aww, Bay, that's so sweet. I love you, too. I can't even tell you how much better I feel now that the trial is over and done with."

Letting go of the hug, Bayley sat down in front of her locker, and Zelina sat next to her. "I'm so glad the bastard got what he deserved for what he did to you. Well, actually he didn't get what he deserved, but you know what I mean."

Zelina nodded. "The judge gave him eight years, even with the guilty plea he put in for violating a restraining order. And he said that he was frankly disappointed not to be able to impose a longer sentence. But eight years was the best we could get, and we got it."

"I hear the judge on that," Bayley said. "It's not nearly enough of a punishment for what he did to you."

"David just sat there and took it," Zelina said, shaking her head. "He's clearly messed up. It was like eight years inside meant nothing to him. Maybe they can get him some help in there this time."

Bayley raised her eyebrows. "I'm surprised to hear you say that."

Zelina shrugged. "What am I supposed to say? I hope someone kills the guy? I couldn't wish that on anyone."

"Bless you, Zel," Bayley said, taking her hand and squeezing it. "You have a good heart. That's one of the things I like most about you."

"There's a difference between hating someone for what they've done to you and wanting them to spend a long time in jail, and wanting them dead. At least, that's how I see it. But the main thing now is that I feel like I'm moving on. I want to focus on the positives in life now, and on the future."

Something of a quizzical expression appeared on Bayley's face. "Focus on the positives? There was something about the way you said that."

Zelina sighed. "Yeah. There was a moment when Seth and I got home after the trial. I looked at him and he looked so tired. It really struck me, and it made me think that I wasn't the only one who went through that whole ordeal, you know?"

"Yeah," Bayley said with a grimace. "It must have been tough for him, too. Actually, I know it has been. Neither of you guys have been quite the same for a while. I didn't want to pry, figuring you would share if you wanted to, but I knew something was going on."

"Sorry, Bay. I just didn't want to talk about it with anyone. It only ever made things worse if I did that, so I just did my best to carry on."

"Oh, I get it," Bayley assured her. "I wasn't criticising your choice not to talk to me about it, not at all. Just know that if you ever do need someone, I'm here if you want me."

Zelina smiled appreciatively. "Thank you, that means a lot." With that, she moved on in a more positive manner. "Hey, things are looking up now, though. The trial is over, we got the guilty verdict we wanted, Seth and I spent an amazing few days with each other, and the sale of my house is about to complete."

"Oh, do you a plan for what to do with the money? Or are you going to save it?"

"I'm going to save some of it. With the rest, I'm going to pay off my mom's mortgage."

"Ah, that's lovely of you," Bayley gushed.

"The way I look at it is our parents look after us when we're young, then it's our turn to do it for them when they get old. I can afford to make her life easier, so I'm going to do it. I make good money here now anyway, after they gave me a new contract a few months ago." And Seth makes a fortune, she didn't have to add.

While she had been saying all of that, Zelina had allowed her attention to drift to her phone. She had loaded up Twitter. One of the first few things in her feed caught her attention. It was an article on a dirt sheet site, that had been posted three minutes ago. "Uh, Bay..." she said slowly, eyes widening.

"What?"

"What the hell?" Zelina turned her phone around so that her friend could read the headline.

"Oh, shoot!" Bayley exclaimed. "Is that legit?"

"I don't know." Zelina tapped to open the article and read some of it aloud. "Breaking: WWE the subject of a sensational takeover bid. The sports entertainment world has been rocked today with news that the biggest wrestling company in the world, WWE, is in advanced stages of negotiations for an outside investor to purchase a controlling interest in the company. The revelation is particularly shocking as it was always assumed that soon-to-be outgoing chairman Vince McMahon would leave the company he built in the hands of his family. However, that now appears not to be the case. The identity of the prospective purchaser is not yet known. More will follow on this earth-shattering story as we get it."

Looking up at Bayley in shock, Zelina added her own summation. "Holy fuck!"

"I'm stunned," Bayley breathed, already tapping away at her own phone. "I'm going to see if it's reported anywhere else, though. It could just be... Oh, my."

"What?" Zelina asked eagerly.

"It's coming up on actual news sites, too! It's on ESPN! I don't know how they've kept it a secret for so long, or how it's leaked now, but I think it's really happening!"

The dots started to connect in Zelina's head. It was no wonder McMahon had seemed to be stepping back over the past number of months. He hadn't been looking to take things a bit easier; he had been working on selling the damn company!

And there she had been, thinking that the biggest surprise of the night was going to be Ronda losing clean to a roll up by Naomi in their tag team tournament semi final match later in the night. It would be a massive shock to the fans, and would do a lot to make Naomi and Natalya look credible.

Ronda and Zelina would then be attacked after the match by Bayley and Becky, and left lying in the ring, beaten up and defeated.

"Hey, has anyone else seen this news?" Sasha Banks called out.

"Yes, we have," Zelina said. "Holy shit!" It was the first time in ages that they had exchanged words in a civilised manner.

Within seconds, the room was filled with noise as everyone started enquiring what the news was, and expressing their shock once they found out.

"I've got to go and tell Seth," Zelina said to Bayley, getting up off the bench. She didn't make it to the door before it opened and a female backstage crew member walked in.

"Guys?" she asked timidly, drowned out by the noise.

Zelina decided to handle it for her. "Quiet!" she shouted loudly, stopping everyone in their tracks. "What is it?" she asked the runner, now that she had a chance of being heard.

"Mr Helmsley is outside. He wants a word with you all, if you're okay for him to come in?"

No one was in the process of changing. "Tell him he can come in," Natalya said on behalf of the group.

Since she wouldn't be leaving the room after all, Zelina walked back over and sat down next to Bayley again. Sonya walked over and sat down on the other side of her, saying, "What the hell is going on, Zel?"

"I wish I knew!"

Hunter walked into the room with a comfortable smile on his face. "Afternoon, ladies. Hope you're all good?"

There were some murmurs of agreement. Everyone wanted him to get on with it, after what they had just found out.

"There's a bit of news I need to give you. I've just been in with the guys and told them about it. The Tuesday after Survivor Series, we're going to be having a special episode of Smackdown. It will be called old school Smackdown. We'll be using the original Smackdown set from back in ninety nine, the original theme music, the whole nine yards. And we'll be bringing back some legends for one night only to mark the occasion. It should be a lot of fun."

His announcement was greeted by silence. He looked confused by the reaction, or lack of it. "Don't all get excited at the same time, whatever you do," he said as an attempt at humour.

"Uh, that's not the news we thought you were going to talk about," Ronda said.

Looking baffled, Hunter looked around the room. "Okay, someone give me a clue?"

Natalya was the one to speak up. "There are breaking news stories about Vince selling the company. We've just been reading them."

Hunter blinked a couple of times, which told Zelina that they had caught him off guard. "Uh, that news shouldn't be public. I don't know what's happened, but you were not meant to find out this way. Actually, we were going to get you all together before the show at Survivor Series and tell you about it."

"Well, now we know," Sasha said. "What can you tell us about it? How is it going to effect us?"

"In the short term, it shouldn't effect you at all. The deal has been in the works for some time, and I'd like to think none of you have had any cause for complaint as a result?"

Several people including Zelina mumbled their agreement with that.

"If it all continues to go to plan, we expect the new ownership to be in effect by the Royal Rumble."

Two months, Zelina thought. She had no idea how long it took to work out everything involved in purchasing a huge company like WWE, but she imagined that two months to go meant that things were in a very late stage. She had to admit that, honestly, whoever was involved had done well to keep things under wraps for this long.

"But that's Wrestlemania season," Carmella said. "Someone's going to come in and start making changes at that time of year?"

"Arguably, that's the best time of year to do it," Hunter said. "But realistically, whatever changes might or might not be made by the new owner will take time to plan and implement. It's not going to be a case of finalising the sale, and everything's going to change like that." He clicked his fingers. "Listen, guys, I'd better get going. There's going to be a lot to do now that this has gone public."

"Wait a minute, that's all the info we get?" Becky asked, a little unfairly, Zelina thought. The guy had walked into the room to talk about something completely different, and had been blindsided by the leak.

"Guys, I don't know what's gone on, or what's in the public domain. I can't say anything else right now because non of it should be public yet. You were supposed to find out before Survivor Series, with the news coming out the following day."

"So we don't even get to find out who the buyer is?" Sasha asked.

"No, not tonight you don't. I'm sorry, guys. Look, I have to go." Looking flustered, Hunter turned and made for the door. As soon as it closed behind him, the room exploded into conversation.

"This is insane!" Sonya said to Zelina and Bayley. "A new owner? He said owner, not owners. Someone's buying out all of McMahon's stocks? Jesus Christ."

Zelina had very little idea how stocks worked, or how the ownership of WWE was divided up. "I don't really get any of that stuff," she admitted.

"Neither do I," Bayley added.

Sonya said, "Well, I'm a long way from being an expert myself. But as I understand it, WWE has class A stocks and class B stocks. I'm not sure if that's the correct terminology, but go with it for the purpose of what I'm saying. The class A stocks are worth a lot more than the class B ones, and therefore carry a lot more weight. Right now, I believe McMahon owns all of the class A, which basically means that while there's a board of directors in place, he pretty much gets to do what he wants. Everyone assumed he would pass those stocks on to Steph, or Hunter, or Shane, so they would be in charge. But I guess that's not happening."

"Holy shit," Zelina breathed. "Are Steph and Hunter even sticking around? I have to believe they are, but this must be so messed up for them. They're going to be answering to someone else."

"An outsider," Bayley added, shaking her head as she tried to imagine being in Stephanie's position.

"We don't know that," Zelina pointed out. Although, even as she said it, she realised that she couldn't think of anyone in the wrestling business who would have anything like that kind of money to throw around.

"Actually, we do," Sonya said, looking up from her phone. "They updated the ESPN article with more news."

"They did?" Zelina asked, quickly unlocking her phone. She soon found the article, scrolled down to the update, and read it aloud. "Update: The identity of the buyer at the heart of today's sensational news story, the proposed takeover of sports entertainment giant WWE, has been revealed." She read on in silence for a moment before looking up, nonplussed.

"Who is it?" Bayley asked eagerly.

"It says Thorne Enterprises," Sonya said. "Never heard of it."

"Neither have I," Zelina agreed, typing the name into a Google search. Bayley looked over her shoulder to read the Wikipedia page that she pulled up.

"It's a parent company for all kinds of shit," Sonya said, looking at the same information. "Look at the estimated net worth. Christ."

"It's an English company, too," Zelina noticed. "Wow! It's owned by a woman, apparently." She tapped on the link to the owner's wiki.

A picture of an attractive, if stern-faced woman with long dark hair appeared, along with her information. Zelina read it to her friends. "Lucy Margaret Thorne. Born in Leicester, England. Age, thirty five. Owner of Thorne Enterprises, and part owner of Leicester City Football Club. Estimated net worth, one point five billion pounds. Married. No mention of any children."

"And soon, our new boss," Bayley said, looking over Zelina's shoulder again to study the woman's picture. "What are you like, Lucy Thorne?"

"And why are you buying a wrestling company?" Zelina asked.

"And what are you going to do with it?" Sonya added poignantly.


	69. Chapter 69

"This whole thing is insane, muñeca."

Zelina looked up at Seth as they walked along a hallway, hand in hand. It was only nine in the morning, but they were backstage prior to the Survivor Series pay per view, having been given a special early call time of eight AM for the event. For the first time, the roster were about to hear from the woman who was apparently going to be their new boss.

"I know it is, baby," Zelina replied. "Who would have ever imagined a McMahon family member not being in charge of WWE?"

"Not me."

During the few days since the news of the takeover had leaked online, precious little else had been discussed on the tour bus. The prospect of a new owner brought excitement and concern for everyone at WWE. For the cartel group, there was more of the latter. They'd had it great for the better part of a year, both on-screen and off it. Changes being made were far more likely to effect them negatively than positively.

"I think a breath of fresh air might be just what we need," Roman Reigns said, walking along just behind them, with Dean Ambrose next to him.

"Yeah, we need to get this chick to put The Shield back together, properly this time," Dean said.

Seth turned around and gave him a fist bump. "I hear you on that, brother."

With a crafty grin on her face, Zelina also looked back. "Need a manager, guys?"

"Hell no," Dean said, stone-faced. His humour was hard to distinguish from seriousness sometimes.

"Well, good. I wouldn't manage you idiots anyway."

All three men laughed, then Dean spoke to Seth. "Bro, you need to get your bitch under control."

"Oohhh, shit!" Roman exclaimed as Zelina glared at Dean, only half acting. She hadn't had all that many interactions with Dean, and she wasn't quite sure what to make of him as yet.

A big grin appeared on his face. "Relax, shorty. If you did end up managing us, you'd have to learn fast that we don't hold back with each other."

She raised her eyebrows. "Shorty? I think you'd have to realise what it would feel like to have me stick my foot up your ass."

"How much do you charge for that kind of thing?" Dean quipped.

Zelina looked at Seth and had to laugh. "These guys are worse than Bobby and Joe."

Roman also laughed. "And what's the common factor between both groups?" He pointed at Seth. "It's that idiot. He's a bad influence on people."

The group were all chuckling as they filed into the large conference room that they had been summoned to.

Zelina saw that steel chairs had been arranged for everyone on the roster to sit down, facing a metal and glass lectern with a microphone on it. The chairs were already about two thirds occupied. Vince, Stephanie and Hunter were standing at the back of the room, engaged in conversation. There was an open door in the back left corner, leading into another room.

"No sign of this Thorne chick," Dean observed as they walked over to fill in the last four seats on a row. Zelina went in first, finding herself sitting next to Ruby Riott.

"Hey, Zel," Ruby greeted her. "Crazy times, huh?"

"Yeah. The question is, how crazy?"

"Yeah, exactly."

With that, Zelina linked her hand with Seth's and looked at him. "We already know one change. I'm mad that they took A Queen is Born from me. I liked having that as my song."

"Hmmm. No more licenced music," Seth said, recalling what Hunter had told them. "Apart from Ronda, because using Bad Reputation is in her contract. But hey, that new theme they've got for you is cool. I liked it when Hunter gave us that preview of it."

"I'm not sold, yet," she replied a little grumpily. The new theme had be produced by CFO$, as was almost invariably the case these days. It had no lyrics, and featured a lot of guitar work, including a couple of solos that were quite cool. In a way, she had found the style of it a little reminiscent of some of The Rock's earlier theme's, even if the end product sounded quite different.

"Hunter made a good point when he said that it would work with you as a face, or if they go ahead and turn you heel. See how it's received when you debut it tonight. I bet they'll send Ronda out first, so everyone knows it's you when it drops."

"Yeah, I guess. I just wish I had a theme that suits me as much as yours suits you."

"You have to give it a chance, muñeca. I didn't like mine when they first gave it to me, either."

"Really?" she asked, surprised.

The conversation was cut off by Vince stepping up to the lectern, with Hunter and Stephanie either side of him. "Come in, grab a seat," he instructed the last few stragglers. His voice brought the room to silence, ready to listen.

"Here we go," Seth mumbled to Zelina, flashing her a raise of his eyebrows.

"Alright, is that everyone?" Vince asked a moment later. "Close the doors, Titus."

Zelina heard the wooden doors thump closed, and settled down to listen, holding Seth's hand in her lap.

"Okay," Vince began. "As you all know by now, for the past number of months, negotiations have been underway regarding the sale of a controlling interest in WWE to an outside investor. I have to apologise to you all for the way you got the news on the internet the other day instead of hearing it from me first. That shouldn't have happened. Now, I know you will all be wanting to know what the future holds for the company. I'll leave that answer in the hands of the incoming owner, who I'll introduce momentarily. But before I do, I'd like to thank each and every one of you for your hard work, dedication and passion, day in, day out. It's you guys who have..."

"No, thank you," someone called out from the back of the room, and started applauding.

Zelina wasn't sure who had spoken up. It had been a man's voice, but she couldn't place it. Either way, the applause caught on within a couple of seconds, with everyone joining in.

"Oh, well..." Vince said awkwardly, looking down at the lectern in a rare display of emotion.

Zelina noticed Stephanie have to look away, and Hunter swallow hard. "Bless them," she whispered to Seth as the applause began to fade.

"Yeah," he whispered back.

Vince's train of thought seemed to have been lost after the interruption. "Anyway, enough about me. Let me say that as far as WWE is concerned, a lot of time, care and attention was put into making sure that we didn't just find a buyer, we found the right buyer. My last act as chairman had to be to ensure that all of your careers and jobs are left in safe hands. I am supremely confident that we have found someone who is knowledgeable about the business, passionate about the business, and willing to commit the significant resources of time and money to ensure that WWE moves forwards as a result of this transition, not backwards. Therefore, allow me to introduce the incoming chairwoman of WWE, Lucy Thorne."

No one seemed to know if they were supposed to applaud or not, so they did, to be on the safe side. Zelina got her first impressions of Lucy Thorne as she walked in through the door at the back left of the conference room and briskly approached the McMahon family. Firm, confident handshakes were exchanged with all three of them.

To Zelina, everything about Thorne said money. It didn't come as a surprise, of course, but the impression of having money just radiated from some people in a way that was hard to explain. Lucy was one of those people. She was tall; about the same height as Stephanie, and wearing a perfectly tailored dark blue suit that must have cost a small fortune by itself. As had been the case in the picture Zelina had seen on Wikipedia, there was an underlying sternness about her face. This was not a woman to fuck with – that was the feeling Zelina got. But then, why would she be? Building up a business empire like Thorne Enterprises would not be a task for the faint-hearted.

With the handshakes out of the way, Vince, Stephanie and Hunter made their way over to the door that Lucy had entered from, leaving the stage to her.

"Thank you. Thank you, everyone," Thorne said, in an English accent that Zelina liked immediately. But what of the woman lay behind it?

"And thank you to Vince for that warm introduction. I would also like to follow him in apologising for the way the news broke to you. It was unacceptable, and the person responsible for the leak has been found and let go."

There you go, Zelina thought. You didn't have to be perceptive to pick up on the message behind that piece of news. Step out of line, your ass is going out the door fast.

"Now, I'm sure most, if not all of you are sitting there thinking, 'Who the hell is Lucy Thorne?' I'll give you a bit of background. I'm part owner of what you would call a soccer team in the English Premier League, Leicester City, and I'm the owner and chairwoman of Thorne Enterprises. Under our umbrella, we have companies in various industries, in countries including England, America, Germany and Saudi Arabia. Once the acquisition is complete, WWE will be the biggest of them all. That is why I can assure you now that my personal time and attention will be heavily invested here once I officially take over as chairwoman."

Seth glanced at Zelina and gave her a look that said he was liking what he was hearing so far. She had to agree. The woman had plenty of money to throw at the company, and she was willing to put work in. It was a good start.

"You may be wondering why an English businesswoman wants to buy a wrestling company, of all things. Would there not be easier ways to make money? Frankly, yes, there would be ways to make money that would be a lot easier."

Yeah, like sell that rock on your finger, Zelina thought as Thorne scratched an itch on her cheek with her left hand. The silver diamond encrusted wedding ring looked like it was worth more than their house. The matching silver necklace wasn't bad, either. Or the watch she had on. How the other half live, Zelina thought with a slight shake of her head.

"The truth is, I'm not buying WWE to make money," Lucy was saying. "Of course I expect it to make money, and it will, but that's not my motivation for coming here. I'm here because I've been a wrestling fan for twenty years. I've been a fan for twenty years, and frankly, as a fan, this company hasn't been meeting my expectations for a long time. We're going to change that."

"Oh, shit," Seth whispered to Zelina, meaning that things were getting serious now.

"Once the takeover is complete, these are going to be exciting times for WWE and its employees, from top to bottom. However, it's a fact of life that some people don't like change. They are resistant to it. For those people, I have this to say: This train is going to leave the station. If you're not on-board, you will be left behind, and it will continue without you."

"Damn," Zelina whispered to Seth. Thorne really did not fuck around when it came to calling things the way they were.

"Having said that, I strongly hope that everyone in this room, and in the company as a whole, comes along on this new journey because it's going to be fantastic. We are not going to be trying to manage the decline of the wrestling business anymore. We are going to be turning the decline around, into growth. It will take time and effort from all of us, but together, we will do it."

Zelina looked at the group she was with. Dean in particular looked attentive, which surprised her.

"I want to assure you that while changes will be made, they will mainly be taking place behind the scenes. As far as you are concerned, the roster, I'm happy with the vast majority of you, and efforts will be made to ensure that the transition period effects you as little as possible. This will be facilitated by Hunter and Stephanie, who are both remaining in their current roles, and have pledged their full support to me. I'd like to thank them both for that commitment, and their ongoing professionalism."

Lucy paused for a moment to look around the room. "I'm seeing some uncertain looks on a few faces. It's understandable. You don't know me, and anyone could stand up here and talk a good game. Let me put it in these terms for you: The primary goal I have is to improve WWE's product. I want an arse in every seat, in every arena, for every Raw and every Smackdown. There's a saying, 'You have to spend money to make money.' There will be no more talk of cost cutting in WWE. Spending will increase, and in time, this will draw us bigger audiences, in America and overseas. I'm not here to see if owning a wrestling company is fun, I'm here to improve it; for myself, for you, and for the fans."

Zelina noticed Seth nodding slightly, obviously agreeing with the vision.

"I will also say, while I'm mentioning the fans, that we are going to become a company that listens to its audience. Without them, we are nothing. We must, must, put out content that they want to watch. And that's what we're going to do." She had banged her hand on the podium for emphasis at the second use of the word must.

Zelina raised her eyebrows to Seth, feeling kind of inspired. This girl was quite a public speaker.

"Lastly, I'm happy to tell you that we will be putting on less live events. There have been too many injuries to top guys in recent years. Having stars sit out months at a time is costly in many ways, and it needs to be cut down. So, we're going to be taking better care of our people – namely, you. I see no positives in having you working in shit hole towns in front of two thousand people. It doesn't even pay for itself. It's counter productive. You will spending more time at home. You will see your families more often. You will be healthier. You will be happier. In return, I expect and require that when you do show up to perform, you leave every single thing you've got in that ring, every single God damned time. Is that understood?"

A loud chorus of agreement came in response.

"Good. Because anyone who doesn't will be out of here before you can say Impact is garbage." There was some laughter. "Briefly, I'll take questions."

Zelina realised that Lucy's speech was at an end. She looked at Seth, but she didn't get the chance to say anything before Kevin Owens chirped up, ever the comedian.

"Do we get a pay increase?"

Everyone on the roster burst out laughing. Lucy seemed to take a moment to appreciate the humour, before allowing a smile. When the laughter died down, she said, "Everyone but you." There was another ripple of laughter.

"When is this deal going to complete?" AJ Styles asked - a more serious question.

"We're hoping for mid January, in time for the Royal Rumble. We're currently on track to meet that."

"What are you going to do about part time guys?" Roman asked. Zelina knew there was a lot of resentment over that kind of thing, with one man in particular considered to be the worst offender, who wasn't even in the room with them now.

Lucy looked Roman in the eyes and said, "There will be no part time contracts signed from now on. The ones currently in effect are in effect, but there will be no new ones offered. Anyone who works for one of my companies does so on my terms, not theirs."

"What's going to happen with NXT?" Drew McIntyre asked. As that brand's current champion, he had a vested interest.

"I have no plans to change the way NXT is currently being run. Hunter is doing a good job with it. I'm behind him, and hope to see it continue."

"Alright, that's all," Lucy said swiftly, before anyone get another question in. "You'll probably not see me again until the takeover is completed, but we will endeavour to make sure you're kept up to date with progress through Hunter. Thank you." With that, she turned and walked from the room the way she had entered, while most of the roster applauded, still unsure if it was what they were supposed to be doing.

Once Lucy had left, everyone started filing out of the room. The way it happened in total silence seemed somewhat comical to Zelina. It was as if people thought Thorne might somehow be listening for an errant comment.

"What did you make of that?" Seth asked their little group once they were out in the hallway, heading for the locker rooms.

"I'd totally hit that," Dean said, making the other two men laugh, and Zelina roll her eyes.

"You're married. And I don't think that's what he meant," Roman said.

"I think I kind of like her," Dean said, seriously this time. "She was upfront about who she is, what she wants, and where she wants us to go."

"Stern, but fair, that was what I read from her," Zelina said. "I wasn't feeling so good about it until she said that stuff about making sure we get more time off. You could tell she's thought that through long and hard, and wants us to be well and happy. It speaks a lot to how she values employees."

Seth nodded. "Right. But with that, she has made herself a stick that she can use to beat anyone who's underperforming or not good enough. I think we'll get some releases once she takes over."

"Nice knowing you, Dean," Zelina said, exacting revenge for his bitch comment earlier. He flipped her the bird in response, but he grinned as he did it.

"Hey, wait up!" It was Renee, hurrying along the hallway after them.

"Where did you get to?" Dean asked his wife after receiving a peck on the cheek.

"I was with Brody and Corey when we got called in, so I sat with them. I heard a rumour that Thorne only wants two commentators on a show, not three."

"You should have asked her," Roman said.

"I didn't want to. I managed to pressure Corey into it, but then she ended the meeting before he got in with it. I guess we'll have to wait and see what happens."

"Either way, you're good," Dean told her. "You're the best they've got."

"I wonder if she's staying to watch the show?" Seth said as Renee smiled sweetly at her man.

"I'd make a bet that she is," Roman said.

"Great," Zelina sighed. "Ronda and I only have a promo. An in-ring promo on a pay-per-view. That's just weird, and I'd have liked to have the chance to impress her in a match."

"It is out of the ordinary, but not unheard of," Seth pointed out. "And you should be happy; promos are your biggest strength. You're bound to impress her."

Zelina chuckled. "Put the pressure on, why don't you?"


	70. Chapter 70

_WWE Survivor Series – November 18th 2018_

The pay-per-view's second segment began with Ronda's music hitting. It was an unexpected surprise for the fans, as the Rousey/Vega team were not on the card. A loud cheer greeted her as she walked out onto the stage.

"Why is Ronda Rousey coming out here?" Graves asked on commentary. "Last I checked, Rousey and Vega were knocked out of the tag team tournament by Naomi and Natalya. They have no business here tonight at Survivor Series."

"It doesn't look like Ronda's dressed for a match," Renee pointed out.

It was true. Ronda had a leather jacket on, with her white Hot Ronda shirt underneath it. The simple outfit was completed with a pair of black pants. Standing in the middle of the stage, she pointed back towards the entrance, indicating the arrival of her partner.

"And here comes Zelina Vega," Alexander said over another loud ovation when her new theme music began to play. "Rousey and Vega might have surprisingly been eliminated from the tournament, but these fans are delighted to see them."

"But why are they here?" Graves wanted to know.

Zelina and Ronda walked down the ramp and entered the ring, looking all business. As Zelina fetched a microphone, her music faded out. Before she could start speaking, a chant of "Ronda Rousey!" got going.

"A lot of love being shown for Ronda Rousey," Renee commented as Zelina nodded her approval of the chant, happy to wait for her chance to speak. Meanwhile, Ronda beamed in delight at the support she was receiving.

Thirty seconds later, the chant showed no sign of dying down. If anything, it had gotten louder. Faintly, in the background, some fans began to add to it, so that the chant became: "Ronda Rousey! Ze-li-na!" Within moments, the modification caught on, and seemingly everyone in the building was chanting both women's names.

"Wow," Ronda could be seen saying to Zelina, who laughed, enjoying the moment.

Renee said, "They've got the crowd in the palms of their hands, and they've not even said anything yet."

"Imagine what might have happened if Rousey didn't get beat by Naomi," Graves quipped.

Eventually, Zelina decided to speak. "Woah, you guys are fired up tonight!" The crowd cheered their agreement. "Ronda and I are fired up too, because tonight, we get to find out who will become the first ever WWE Women's Tag Team Champions."

"We'll see the final match of the tournament later tonight," Renee confirmed.

"Will it be Naomi and Natalya?" Zelina wondered, drawing a cheer. "Or will it be Becky Lynch and Bayley?" Boos rained down.

"I think we know who the fans want it to be," Alexander said.

"Later tonight, Ronda and I will be sitting back there watching as keenly as the rest of you to get that answer. But before that, we decided to come out here, for one simple reason. We are issuing a challenge to the winners of tonight's match. Regardless of which team leaves Survivor Series with those belts, we want the first shot at them."

"There you have it!" Renee said, hyping it up. "Rousey and Vega want the first shot at the new tag team champions, whoever they might turn out to be."

While Zelina had been speaking, Ronda had fetched a microphone for herself. She rarely did much talking, as that was usually left to Zelina. But this time, she had something to say. "Naomi, it's true that a real woman makes her own luck, and I'll give you all the props in the world for it. But the fact of the matter is, you got lucky when you pinned me Tuesday night on Smackdown. Next time we step in a ring with each other, it's not going to go like that."

Zelina nodded her agreement and took back over. "Naomi, Nattie, we would honestly much rather see you win tonight than Bayley and Becky, because no one wants to see those lame ass cowardly bitches come out as champions."

The fans cheered the strong words loudly as Alexander said, "Vega is taking no prisoners tonight."

"But regardless of which team wins tonight, we want our shot. Because the fact of the matter is this: There is no team that can compare to Ronda Rousey and Zelina Vega. I was the first holder of the new WWE Women's Championship. And this right here," Zelina pointed to Ronda, "is the baddest woman on the planet. Make no mistake about it, it is our destiny to become the Women's Tag Team Champions, and nothing or nobody is going to stop us."

Ronda spoke next, to bring the promo to an end. "Bayley? Becky? Naomi? Natalya? It doesn't matter which of you win tonight. Zelina and I are going to fight you, and we're going to beat you. Please, there's no other way."

After she dropped the microphone, Ronda's music hit, to another cheer, albeit not a great one.

While the popular team left the ring, Zelina didn't feel all that pleased with how things had gone. They had been given the rarity of an in-ring promo on a pay-per-view, but they hadn't actually been given much to say with it. As a result, it felt like it had fallen flat.

She had no way of knowing that up in one of the executive suites, Lucy Thorne was watching the show. Currently, she was slowly shaking her head in disapproval. "No, no, no. This isn't going to work," she muttered to herself.

Down on the arena floor, Ronda walked up the entrance ramp, with Zelina close behind, a camera staying on them the whole time while the commentary team talked about the challenge they had just made.

When Ronda went to walk back through the curtain, Becky Lynch came charging through it, taking her totally by surprise, and smashed her in the stomach with a sledgehammer.

"Oh, God!" Renee yelped. "That's Becky Lynch! She hit Rousey with a damn sledgehammer!"

With the fans howling in shock and booing the cowardly act, Zelina reacted quickly. Running at Becky, she began laying into her with right hands, staggering her and causing her to drop the hammer.

"Look at Vega go!" Alexander called. "She's lighting Lynch up with those right hands!"

It didn't last long, though. Bayley came rushing through the curtain and ran through the back of Zelina, knocking her down.

"There's Bayley now, attacking Vega! What is this about?" Renee demanded as the former hugger started laying kicks into Zelina.

"Did you not just hear Rousey and Vega challenge Bayley and Becky to a fight?" Graves asked. "They wanted a fight and they're getting one."

Having given Zelina a good kicking, Bayley picked her up and got her in position for her finishing move.

"No! Not a Bayley-to-belly on the stage!" Renee cried. But that was exactly what happened.

"God damn it!" Alexander said angrily. "Bayley assaulted Vega from behind, then slammed her on the stage. Zelina might be hurt."

"I'll tell you who is hurt," Renee said as the shot changed to show Ronda trying to get up. She was holding her stomach in agony and blood was trickling from her mouth. "It looks to me like Ronda Rousey has internal bleeding, and no wonder, after she was hit in the stomach with a sledgehammer by that lowlife Becky Lynch."

"'That lowlife' has the hammer again, Renee, so I'd watch your mouth," Graves said.

Becky's attention was firmly on Ronda, standing behind her, ready to strike a devastating blow with the hammer.

Slowly, in a lot of pain, Ronda made it to her feet. As soon as she did so, Becky swung the hammer and blasted her right in the lower back. The fans all cried out in horror, taken by surprise that something so brutal would happen.

"Christ almighty!" Alexander screamed. "Lynch just blasted Rousey right in the spine. That could cripple her!"

Becky turned around, looking like she was going to turn her attention to Zelina next. Perhaps luckily, a group of referees and officials came running through the curtain to break things up. Deciding that they were happy with their handiwork, Becky and Bayley went without putting up a fight.

"I've seen some heinous acts in my time, but that was the worst of them all," Renee said in disgust. "Since aligning with Bayley, Becky Lynch has become a real piece of work."

While the attackers were being led away, Zelina had been able to get up and go over to her partner, who was lying face down, unconscious. "Help! We need help here!" she yelled, frantically beckoning for medics to come from the back.

The assistance arrived within moments. With Zelina standing aside with a look of great concern on her face, Ronda was carefully turned over by the paramedics and then strapped to a back board. The crowd looked on in near silence, still shocked by what they had just witnessed.

"These fans are stunned. I'm stunned," Renee said. "I know we have some heated rivalries in WWE, but this was something else. This was an outright assault by Becky Lynch; an attempt to end another woman's career."

"No," Graves said. "What this was, was a message to Rousey, Vega, and anyone else who wants to get on the wrong side of Bayley and Becky Lynch." Ronda was now being wheeled towards the curtain on a stretcher. "If you do, that's what you get. And by the end of tonight, Lynch and Bayley will be our first ever Women's Tag Team Champions."

"That remains to be seen," Renee said acidly. "They meet Naomi and Natalya in the finals later tonight."

With her hands on her head in distress, Zelina followed her injured partner through the curtain.

* * *

Using the usual array of underhanded tactics, the immensely unpopular team of Bayley and Becky had dominated the final match in the tag team title tournament. They appeared to have things well under control until Naomi ducked an attempted clothesline from Becky and the Irishwoman instead caught the poorly positioned referee square in the face with it, knocking him through the ropes and out to the floor.

"What an idiot!" Graves exclaimed. "What was the referee standing there for?"

"That could be a disqualification," Renee said, more in hope than expectation.

The mistake didn't distract Becky from the task at hand. She countered an attempted Irish whip by Naomi, sending her crashing hard into the turnbuckles in a corner of the ring. Naomi staggered back out into the middle of the ring, into the waiting arms of Becky.

"Oh, here it comes," Renee said, seeing the setup for the Bexploder suplex.

When the referee had been knocked out, Bayley had been quick to realise that there was an opportunity for some more cheating. She dropped down off the apron and ran around to the opponents corner, hoping to get a sneak attack in. Natalya saw her coming, however, and dropped down to floor. Bayley stopped in her tracks, but it was too late to back out.

"Natalya now, going after Bayley," Alexander called. "Oh! Bayley's head bounced off our table!"

That happened at the same time as Becky hit the Bexploder in the ring. Knowing there was no referee, she didn't bother making a cover. Instead, she got out of the ring and crouched down next to him, trying to wake him up.

Renee said, "Becky trying to get the referee back... Wait!"

Someone flew into the shot and hit a spike hurracanrana on Becky, driving her face first into the floor. There was only one possibility who an attacker delivering that particular move could be, and it drew a loud cheer from the fans.

"That's Zelina Vega!" Alexander called.

"You idiot!" Graves shouted at Zelina, who followed up her finishing move with some choice words, delivered aggressively. "What does Vega think she's doing out here?"

"Getting some payback for earlier tonight," Renee said. "Vega's partner, Ronda Rousey, was seriously injured by Lynch earlier tonight."

Zelina picked Becky up and rolled her into the ring under the bottom rope as a second referee came running down the entrance ramp. Bayley and Natalya were still fighting in front of the commentary table.

"Here comes a referee!" Alexander called.

In the ring, Naomi was back on her feet. Becky also got back up, but she looked very groggy indeed.

"Lynch doesn't know where she is!" Renee said excitedly. Naomi sprinted in and hit her finishing move, to an explosion from the crowd. "The Rear View!"

The referee arrived in the ring at the exact moment to make the count, with the fans joining in.

"One!"

"Two!"

"No!" Graves yelled.

"Three!"

"Yes!" Renee cried. "They did it! Naomi and Natalya! Naomi and Natalya are champions!"

"And they can thank Zelina Vega for the assist!" Alexander said as Zelina was shown walking up the ramp with a satisfied grin on her face.

Up in the executive suite, Lucy Thorne was shaking her head again. She finished her glass of wine and sighed, not happy at all with what she had just seen. "What a load of bollocks," she said under her breath.


	71. Chapter 71

"Thank you," Zelina said to the Uber driver who had just dropped her off at the address she had been given in midtown Manhattan.

Looking up at the tower block in front of her, she estimated it at twenty five storeys high. Its exterior was finished primarily in glass, which reflected the early January sun back at her. Above the main entrance was a large T logo with a dark red thorn forming the stem of the T. Yes, she thought, this was the American headquarters of Thorne Enterprises.

The new year was only a couple of days old, but Zelina wasn't feeling the traditional positivity of the season. The reason was that she hadn't been on WWE television for a month. She was about to have a meeting with the woman responsible for that fact.

Hunter had been up front with her and said that Lucy Thorne had pulled the plug on the Rousey/Vega pairing, saying that she wasn't happy with it in the least.

"Great," Zelina had sighed, annoyed by the latest change in the way she was being used. "So now what am I doing?"

"For now, you're being written off TV. Ronda is missing a couple of shows to do a bit of filming, as you know. While she's gone, we're going to have Bayley and Becky take you out."

"So I just disappear?" she had asked, unimpressed.

"We can't miss you if you don't go away," Hunter had pointed out.

And that had been that. Zelina had supposedly suffered an ankle injury on that night's show, and hadn't been seen since. It seemed like she was about to find out what was planned for her. At least Thorne had the decency to invite her to the office and speak to her in person, she supposed.

Although the Thorne takeover of WWE wasn't officially complete as yet, Hunter's last update had been that they were looking at two or three weeks until the announcement was made. The finish line was approaching.

The weather in New York was freezing, and Zelina wasn't dressed for it, in a thin jacket and leather pants. She told herself to stop staring at the building and get inside before she froze to death.

She hurried inside, savouring the blast of warm air that hit her as she did so. Walking over to the reception desk, she was greeted by an impossibly attractive young blonde woman, who of course had a perfect smile.

"Good morning. Welcome to Thorne Enterprises. How may I help you?"

"My name is Zelina Vega. I'm here to see Ms Thorne, at eleven. I'm slightly early," she explained politely.

The receptionist clicked away at her mouse, obviously checking Thorne's appointments for the day. The smile returned as she looked back at Zelina and gestured across the lobby. "Thank you, Ms Vega. You're going to take the elevator to the twenty second floor, turn left out of the elevator, and Ms Thorne's office will be in front of you."

"Thank you."

Zelina went over to the bank of two elevators. The doors to the right hand one slid open when she pressed the button. It came as no surprise that the twenty second floor was the top floor. Where else would Thorne have her office?

Travelling up there, Zelina found herself thinking about the fact that she wasn't the first of WWE's employees to be summoned here to see the new boss. She knew for a fact that Ronda had been, and so had Roman. Others had too, presumably. She imagined that Thorne was calling in people whose characters she wanted changed significantly. There were rumours of a heel turn for Roman. If that was true, it really was going to be a new era.

"But what about me?" she asked aloud, having no real idea what the answer might be. She felt like she had already been going from pillar to post creatively since making the main roster, and now Thorne was tinkering again. Zelina was getting tired of it, and didn't plan on being afraid to say so.

After talking it over with Seth, they had both reached the conclusion that the problem was still the same one that Hunter had allegedly been struggling with: Was she better as a wrestler, or a manager that wrestled a little?

"At this point, I really don't mind which role they give me. I just want to be left the fuck alone to do it," Zelina had said, her frustration bubbling over.

As ever, Seth had been able to cool her off. But the fact remained that she wanted a solid decision about her creative, one way or the other. Once she sat down with Lucy Thorne, she intended to get one.

Emerging onto the top floor, Zelina saw offices, people in suits and precious little else. She had no idea who any of the people were, or what jobs they had in the Thorne empire. What she did know was she wouldn't want to swap jobs with them. Sitting at a desk wasn't for her.

Heading to the left, as instructed, Zelina walked down to Lucy Thorne's outer office. There was a receptionist, or assistant, whatever the right job description was, sitting at a desk. He was an impeccably presented man in his thirties with gelled black hair. "Ms Vega?" he enquired.

"That's right. I'm a little early."

"Have a seat. Ms Thorne will be ready for you shortly." He gestured to a row of comfortable-looking chairs that were lined up against the wall opposite his desk. "Can I get you something to drink? Tea? Coffee?"

"Do you have chamomile tea?"

"I can certainly check for you. Have a seat."

As she turned to walk over to the chairs, Zelina smiled. Someone not accepting regular tea or coffee had thrown the guy off; she had seen it in his eyes. It was quite amusing.

Sitting down, Zelina checked the time on her phone. Still ten minutes early. It soon dawned on her that she was going to be made to wait until the allotted time, come what may.

Five minutes later, the assistant returned with a cup in his hand. "Chamomile tea," he announced, as if it was an achievement comparable to climbing Everest.

"Thank you," she smiled sweetly, carefully taking the cup from him.

With nothing better to do, Zelina looked around at the large photographs displayed on the walls in place of actual artwork. They showed various buildings similar to the one she was in, presumably in different countries around the world – all owned by Thorne Enterprises, she had to assume. Actually, she realised, one of them was this building, shot from a helicopter or something.

While the photography itself was spectacular in every instance, the self-promotion and decadence about displaying the pictures in the first place did not appeal to her. There was a gap on one wall where a picture had been removed from the collection. Zelina had a fair idea what would soon be going in that space. WWE headquarters was about to be added to the portfolio.

The phone on the assistant's desk rang, almost making Zelina jump. The only sound for the past ten minutes had been his light keystrokes as he typed.

"Yes, Ms Thorne?" he asked. Zelina nearly cringed at the way he said it. She wouldn't have been able to work a job where she had to lick someone's ass the whole time like that.

"Yes, ma'am," he said after a moment. Replacing the phone, he looked over at Zelina. "Ms Thorne will see you now."

Nodding her acknowledgement, Zelina found the use of the word Ms for a married woman to be odd. But then maybe it was correct form if the woman used her maiden name? She didn't know. If the guy who worked here used Ms Thorne, though, then so would she.

Determined to look confident, Zelina opened the door and strode into the boss's office. Opposite the door was the glass exterior of the building. There was quite a view from up here, if you liked looking at other skyscrapers.

Lucy Thorne was sitting behind a black wooden desk, writing something on a sheet of paper with a silver fountain pen. She looked up, then rose slightly to offer her hand. "Zelina. Good to meet you."

Zelina saw that the warmth in Lucy's smile made it to her eyes. The sentiment she had expressed was genuine. It was pretty much the first positive in her visit to Thorne Enterprises. "Nice to meet you, Ms Thorne," she said as she accepted the firm handshake, not sure how formal she needed to be.

"Lucy. Sit down," the boss instructed, motioning to the two leather office chairs in front of the desk.

Zelina sat, then put her half consumed cup of tea down on the edge of the desk.

Thorne's right eyebrow twitched as she eyed the drink suspiciously. "What have you got there?"

"Chamomile tea," Zelina replied, wishing she had never asked for the fucking thing.

"Chamomile tea," Lucy repeated, considering it for a moment, before letting it slide and moving on. "You live in Florida, right? How was your flight up here?"

"Yes, Orlando," Zelina replied, thinking about saying that drinking herbal tea wasn't an alien concept down there. "Yes, the flight was good, thank you. It actually arrived early."

Lucy leaned back in her chair, immediately giving the conversation a more relaxed feeling. "So, how do you think things are going?"

"For me?" Zelina asked.

"Yes, for you."

"Uh, how honest do you want me to be?" she asked, thinking that giving the honest answer she had in mind might do her more harm than good.

"You can speak freely, Zelina. That's why you're here. I'm a straight-talking businesswoman. I asked you a straight question, so I'd appreciate a straight answer."

Fair enough, Zelina thought, for the first time feeling like there might be a chance that she could warm to Lucy. "I'm not happy with how things are going. Since I made the main roster, I've been a manager; I've been a manager who wrestled; I've been a wrestler; I've seen rumours of management thinking I'm not good enough to wrestle and they want me to manage; I've been told I'd be good on a tag team. After all of that, now I'm off TV again so that I can come back with another change in character. I'm getting sick of it. I just want to be told what role I'm going to have, then I want the chance to give it my best. I'm very frustrated. Uh, sorry," she added, realising that she had gone a lot harder than she had wanted to.

Across the table, Lucy's eyebrows were raised. "Don't apologise. That's one of the most honest answers I've gotten to a question in a while. It sounds like you've been fucked around by the previous management."

"That's your choice of wording," Zelina said carefully, making sure to get across that she didn't disagree with it.

"Yes it is. And it's also my opinion. Remember, I don't come into this venture without a clue. I've watched the product for the past twenty years. I've seen them floundering around with you, not knowing what to do with you. Hopefully you'll be pleased to learn that I have a clear idea of how I want you to be used."

Zelina nodded. "Yes, that sounds good. At this point, I just want a solid shot at something. Because right now? I feel like my career is going nowhere, and I'm going to end up falling by the wayside."

For a moment, Lucy seemed to chew that over. When it came, the reply was music to Zelina's ears. "Not in my company you're not. I think you're very talented. In fact, I told my husband as much when you were on NXT. I remember saying, 'That girl has really got something.'"

Picking up her cup of tea, Zelina took a sip while she read between the lines. "So you're saying you like me as a manager?"

Lucy nodded. "I like you as a manager. I saw what you did with Almas. He was nothing before you showed up, and he's nothing again now that you're not with him. You made that guy a main event talent. You did that. Then you came to the main roster, and you helped to get Seth back to the top. We all know he's an incredible wrestler, but you still elevated him."

"Wow. Thank you," Zelina said when Lucy paused. She was genuinely humbled to receive such high praise from the new boss.

"For me, your promo work is your strength," Thorne went on, seemingly not having registered that Zelina had said anything. "So long as you're a heel, that is. I sat there at Survivor Series a couple of months back and watched you do a babyface promo with Ronda. I was so disappointed. Nothing that's great about Zelina Vega was present in that promo. So, you want clarity on how you're going to be used? Here it is: You're going to be a manager, and you're going to be a heel."

"Alright, let's do it," Zelina said with determination. When she had walked into the office, she had expected not to like Lucy Thorne. But the experience had turned out to be something different. The underlying sternness was still there, but in this meeting, Lucy had been pleasant, decisive, and had shown that she knew what she wanted. Zelina could get behind that.

Lucy sat up straighter in her chair, looking happy with what she was seeing from Zelina. "Thorne Enterprises will complete the takeover of WWE befopre the Royal Rumble. We're all geared up for the first show of the new era on Raw the next night. That's when you're going to return, as will your new client."

Naturally, Zelina wanted to ask who she was being put with, but she wasn't given the chance to get a word in.

"What I want to do is try and replicate what you did with Almas on NXT. I want to give you a project; a guy I rate highly; a guy I believe can be a Universal Champion, in time; a guy who has been held back by McMahon and his people."

"Who?" Zelina asked, wishing that she wasn't thinking about the New Day gimmick. To her surprise, Thorne giggled. It seemed strange, coming from her.

"I know we're both thinking the same thing. No one can ask that question in WWE anymore, can they?"

Zelina burst out laughing. "They can, but not without thinking about New Day."

Shuffling through the papers on her desk, still smiling at the joke, Lucy pulled out a glossy promotional photo of a superstar and slid it towards Zelina. "Your new client."

"Yes," Zelina said appreciatively after a moment. "Yes, I like it."

"Good. Then it's decided. Just having him come back as your client will signal to the fans that over time, he's getting a big push."

While it felt great to finally have confirmation that she was valued by the new owner, and to have a solid commitment to the way she would be used, there was still a concern on Zelina's mind. "I, uh, guess the days when the cartel group all travelled together are over? We have a tour bus, and we became really close friends."

The Vega Cartel had already been dissolved as an on-screen faction, with the guys going their separate ways in their boss's absence.

"I'm afraid so," Thorne said without much emotion. "We'll be shaking things up after the rumble, and you'll be moving to Raw. The good news is, so will Seth, and so will Bayley. But Bobby and Joe will be staying on Smackdown.

Zelina sighed, but she knew that it could have been a lot worse. Ending up on the opposite roster to Seth would have been unimaginably awful. Saying goodbye to Bayley and Daga would also have been terrible. "I guess that gives us a couple of spots on the bus," she said, trying to put a brave face on it.

For the next ten minutes, they chatted about the initial plans for Zelina's return and how the gradual push of her new client would begin, before Lucy brought the meeting to a close.

By then, Zelina was clear on her opinion of WWE's incoming chairwoman. She clearly wasn't someone to mess with or get on the wrong side of, but she had shown that if you avoided doing that, she was quite personable. Zelina now had high hopes for the new era with this woman in charge.

"Thanks for coming in today," Lucy said, getting to her feet and offering her hand.

"Thank you for talking things through with me," Zelina said as they shook. "I really appreciate it. And thank you for the fresh start. I feel happy knowing what I'm going to be doing."

"Glad to hear it. Have a good day," Lucy said, using it as a dismissal. Zelina turned to leave, but she was stopped in her tracks. "Zelina?"

She turned to face the boss. "Yeah?"

Lucy gestured to the cup that was sitting on the edge of the desk, which still had some herbal tea in the bottom of it. "Get that shit out of my office." There was good humour in the instruction.

Zelina walked back over to the desk with a smile on her face. "Right."


	72. Chapter 72

The atmosphere backstage was electric. Arguably, more so than Zelina had ever experienced in her WWE career. Tonight was the night that the new era got underway. It was almost time for Monday Night Raw, the night after the Royal Rumble.

"Hyped up, muñeca?" Seth asked her. They were standing near to Gorilla, while Seth waited to go out and open the first Raw of the Thorne era, when he would announce that he had been drafted to the red brand as the first pick of the 2019 WWE draft.

Zelina looked up her man adoringly. "Yes I am, Mr Royal Rumble winner."

Beaming, Seth liked that title a lot. It had been an emotional moment for them the night before when he had gotten one of the biggest triumphs of his career. He was now guaranteed a main event spot on the grandest stage of them all, and, they hoped, a title run to follow. "I could get used to being called that," he said happily.

"I'm so proud of you, baby," she told him, as if there was any doubt about it after the previous night. She hadn't held back in showing her love for him when they had gotten back to the hotel.

"And tonight you make your return," he smiled. "Are you excited?"

"Of course! I've not appeared since the first week of December. It's nearly February. I was ready to go out of my mind!"

"Let's hope the fans are the ones who go out of their minds when you go out there. It seems to have leaked out that you're coming back as a manager, and people seem hyped for it. I've seen a lot of speculation going on about who your client might be."

Zelina returned the smile. "They seem hyped in general. I'll give Thorne all the credit in the world. That girl knows what she's doing."

"It was a clever touch she pulled out at the press conference," Seth acknowledged.

Thinking back to it, Zelina nodded. Lucy had used the occasion of the official announcement of her takeover to talk directly to the fans, telling them to communicate with her and tell her what changes they wanted to see by using the Twitter hashtag make wrestling great again. The tag itself could maybe have been thought out better, but the idea behind it was a good, if crafty one, in Zelina's opinion.

"It was clever," she said. "She was able to go through and find people suggesting changes that she already wanted to make, and have it appear like she was going to do it on behalf of the fans. A lot of people will have fallen for it. Free positive PR for her and the company."

"What were some of the things she replied to again?" Seth asked. "I remember someone saying they wanted pyro bringing back was one of them."

Zelina nodded. "Right. And she put, 'Done.' The one that stood out for me was the guy who said 'We want a Wrestlemania in England.'"

"And she put that thoughtful looking emoji thing," Seth remembered. "So we might be getting an English 'Mania. I'd be down for that. Imagine what the crowd would be like!"

"I guess it would explain why no venue has been announced for next year yet. Maybe she's working on it."

They heard JoJo out in the arena, telling the live audience that Raw would go live in thirty seconds.

"Here we go. I'd better get in there," Seth said, meaning Gorilla.

"Okay. Enjoy, baby." Zelina give him a little peck on the cheek, being careful not to get lipstick on him.

"I will. Love you."

"Love you, too." Zelina stood there smiling as he walked off. She decided to stay where she was and watch the show's opening on the TV they had been standing next to. After all, it was the first of a new era.

Within moments, the intro sequence began. It comprised a new video package and a new heavy metal theme, which she could hear playing in the arena. As with a lot of the things Thorne was doing, it leaned more towards the attitude and ruthless aggression eras than what had been called the PG era. At the end of the intro came the company's new logo. The old WW with the F cut off the end was gone. It had been replaced by a similar logo but actually featuring an E next to the double W's. The red swish underneath had been replaced by a dark red thorn sticking through the bottom of the letters.

Out in the arena, Zelina heard the deafening scream of the first pyros before she saw them on the screen, coming shooting down at the newly-designed stage from the ceiling like missiles. Explosion after explosion rocked the building for the better part of a minute, before the grand finale, a thunderous blast that seemed to white out the entire stage for a second.

"Jesus Christ," Zelina said under her breath as the fans roared their approval over the top of the theme music. The display certainly seemed to have gotten everyone hyped up. Thorne wasn't holding back on her budgets the way McMahon had in the past year or two, that was for sure.

The feed she was watching had no sound, but she could imagine Raw's new two-person commentary team of Renee Young and Corey Graves having to shout to make themselves heard over the noise from the crowd as they made their introductions.

After another thirty seconds or so, she heard Seth's music hit, and the roof nearly came off the place. She imagined the look on Lucy's face in Gorilla. If Zelina had read the boss correctly, she imagined that she already felt like the millions of dollars she had spent on the company were worth it.

"I wouldn't mind a reaction like that when we go out there later," a voice said behind her. It was her new on-screen client.

Turning around, she gave him a wink. "That's a lock. You're a Zelina Vega guy now."

* * *

Raw's third hour began with Sami Zayn, the WWE Intercontinental Champion, coming to the ring. Since turning face, he had held the title for the past six months, defending it on most Raw episodes and all pay-per-views, overcoming any opponent that had been put in front of him.

After the fans had fun singing along to his music, Sami started to cut a fairly standard promo, reminding everyone that he was willing to wrestle anyone for the Intercontinental Championship.

"The problem is, it's starting to feel like I'm lacking competition. I don't know if there's anyone back there that I've not already beaten."

The noise in the arena rose slightly. The fans recognised the build up to a surprise when they heard it. Since it was the night of the 2019 draft, literally anyone could come out. What they didn't expect was someone to walk out with no entrance music. For a few seconds, until the camera shot changed to show Zelina on the screen, no one seemed to have figured out who it was.

"Wait a minute, that's Zelina Vega!" Renee said on commentary as the crowd popped for her return. "Zelina Vega! We haven't seen her in months! Why is she coming out here now?"

Graves said, "I don't know, but I don't think she's planning on wrestling Sami Zayn."

After Zelina's music faded out, the fans cheered again, before some of them started to chant, 'Vega!' Now that she was back to playing a heel, she ignored them, standing there glaring down towards the ring at Zayn.

"Vega looks all business tonight. I like it," Graves said.

"You want competition, Sami?" Zelina asked once the crowd reaction died down a bit. "I've got you. I've got you some real competition, who will challenge you for that Intercontinental Championship right here, right now! Allow me to introduce you to my new client."

"Vega has taken on a new client? This could be huge!" Graves said, hyping it up as she stepped over to one side of the stage, ready for the big entrance. The fans were mostly on their feet now, excited to see who it was going to be, knowing that whoever it was would almost inevitably be getting a big push.

The sound of an ambulance siren filled the arena, and the fans roared their approval, reacting to the name that had appeared on the big screen as much as to the start of the music.

"Oh, it's Cesaro!" Renee yelled, just about making herself heard over the loud ovation as he walked out onto the stage. "Oh, yes! He's been out for several months with a broken foot. Now he's back, and he's hired Zelina Vega! What a coup this is for Cesaro!"

As Cesaro approached her, Zelina shouted something at him aggressively, pointing her finger in his face, firing him up.

"Look at Zelina," Graves said. "She's like a wild animal, and she's got Cesaro fired up and ready to go!"

The manager/client pairing posed at the top of the ramp, both performing Cesaro's unique double fisted pose. It drew another cheer from the fans.

As Zelina and Cesaro walked down the ramp, JoJo announced him as the challenger. The match for the Intercontinental Championship was set.

Zelina led her client into the ring, and they faced the crowd to perform the double fisted pose again. In front of them, most of the fans were still standing, and they copied the gesture.

"Cesaro takes on Sami Zayn for the Intercontinental Championship when we come back," Renee said, cuing a commercial break.

* * *

With Zelina shouting encouragement from ringside, Cesaro had put on a very impressive performance in his first match back from injury.

It had been a fast-paced affair, featuring impressive technical wrestling and jaw-dropping athleticism from both men. The latest example came from Cesaro, who springboarded himself off the middle rope to deliver a spinning corkscrew uppercut right into Zayn's jaw. The move hit with a loud crack, and something white flew up into the air.

"Was that a tooth?" Graves asked. "What an impact! Cesaro into the cover!"

The fans all joined in with the count, still hyped up by the return. They didn't seem to care in the least that Cesaro had obviously worked the match as a heel.

"One!"

"Two!"

Zayn got a shoulder up so late that some fans actually counted three.

"Zayn at the last possible moment!" Renee cried as Zelina was shown with her hands on her head, disbelief and frustration written all over her face. She stepped up to the apron and banged her hand on it repeatedly, screaming instructions to her client.

Cesaro looked at his manager for a second, then nodded his head. He grabbed Zayn and hauled him into position for the Neutraliser. The fans cheered him on, sensing a title change.

"Here it comes!" Graves shouted.

But before Cesaro could deliver the move, Sami wriggled out of his grasp, grabbed both of his legs, pulled them out from under him and flipped over on top of him into a pinning combination.

"Oh, Zayn with the counter," Renee said.

"One!"

"Two!"

"Three!"

"He got him! Zayn wins!" Renee called. "Sami Zayn is still the champion."

"Look at Zelina Vega; she's livid!" Graves cried as she was shown having a rage fit outside the ring.

"Cesaro can't believe it either," Renee said. He was shown sitting with both hands on his head, yelling angrily. "If he had any hair, Cesaro would be pulling it out right now. He thought he had the title won, but Sami Zayn managed to pull out the win."

The referee had handed Sami his belt, and he was celebrating his victory, standing by the ropes, raising it in the air as he looked out at the crowd. Seemingly out of nowhere, Zelina appeared behind him and smashed him in the back with a steel chair.

"Oh, come on!" Renee objected as Sami's music abruptly stopped and he collapsed to the mat in pain. "Vega with a steel chair to Sami Zayn. What was that for?"

Looking manic, Zelina slammed the chair into Cesaro's chest and shouted, "Finish it!" By now, the fans were starting to boo them for the first time.

"Zayn might have won the match, but I don't think he's going to win the war," Graves said.

Obeying his new manager, Cesaro went after Sami with the chair, battering his body and legs with it multiple times, with Zelina shouting encouragement like a woman possessed. It was undoubtedly the return of the old Zelina Vega, and the arrival of a new Cesaro.

Once Zayn had figuratively been beaten to a pulp, Cesaro threw the chair aside as his music began to play. A team of referees arrived to break things up, typically late.

"Utterly reprehensible from Vega and Cesaro," Renee said, sounding like she was shaking her head.

Zelina raised Cesaro's hand in triumph, pointing at her new client and mouthing off at the crowd, who booed them both.

"Cesaro is back, and he has a new killer instinct," Graves said. "I like it. I like it a lot. Under Vega's leadership, The Swiss Superman could be unstoppable."

That brought an end to the segment. The lights above the ring were turned off and the music stopped playing, which told Zelina that the show was now on commercial. "That went pretty well," she commented to Cesaro as they left the ring.

"Very well," he agreed happily. "That reaction when I came out."

"I know!" she smiled, leading the way up the entrance ramp.

When they walked through the curtain, Lucy Thorne was there to greet them. Zelina had never seen someone having so much fun in her life. Passion was one thing the new boss unquestionably brought to the table.

"Yes, Cesaro!" the boss said loudly, exchanging something that fell in between a high five and handshake with him, their hands smacking loudly together. "You hear that crowd when you walked out there? That's what we've done!"

Zelina was next to receive the same celebratory gesture. She tried not to let on that her wrist almost got broken in the process. Thorne obviously had quite a powerful physique hidden under those expensive suits that she liked to wear.

"That's what we've done, Zelina!" Lucy said passionately.

A lightbulb went off in Zelina's head, and she smiled. "Hey, can I use that?"

"Uh, yeah, if you want to," Lucy smiled broadly.

"Great. I know what to say next time Cesaro and I give someone a beat down like that."

Sami walked through the curtain then, and Lucy went to speak to him. Zelina took that as their cue to leave, and led the way out of Gorilla.

"Great job, guys," Hunter said from the producer's position.

She gave him a wave and a smile of acknowledgement as Cesaro thanked him.

"Lucy's loving it, isn't she?" Zelina said once they were out in the hallway.

Cesaro smiled. "The company is being run by a fan, for the fans. It's exciting for everyone."

"She's lucky that she has Hunter, though, to do the producing and stuff. I'm sure she hasn't a clue about that kind of thing."

"You're probably right. But, hey, the main thing is we're at the start of something great. You and I, I mean."

Zelina looked up at him, feeling flattered by the value he saw in having her assigned to be his manager. "Let's hope so," she said.

* * *

Later that night, when the time came to leave the arena, it was the moment Zelina had been dreading. The tour bus wasn't heading to Smackdown the next day, and that meant parting ways with Bobby and Joe, who were still on the blue brand's roster.

Standing near the bus, she waited while first Seth, then Bayley said their goodbyes to their two friends. Then it was Zelina's turn to step forward. Feeling tearful, she embraced Bobby first. "I wish we didn't have to do this."

"Me too, Zel. Me too." He hugged her tightly for a moment. When they released each other, she approached Joe.

"Don't be a stranger, okay?" the big guy said as they embraced each other.

"I won't," she promised, sniffing loudly, holding back the tears.

She stepped aside, allowing Elena to be the last to say her goodbyes. She hugged Joe first, and then stood in front of Bobby. Of the whole group, romantic relationships aside, they shared the closest bond, ironically built around his constant, but pointless flirting with her. Zelina bit her bottom lip, finding it hard to watch.

"I never did get a kiss," Bobby said, trying, as ever, to find humour in the situation.

Elena stretched up and gave him a gentle peck on the cheek. "I'll miss you," she told him tenderly before they hugged each other.

That was too much for Zelina. She rushed onto the bus with tears streaming down her cheeks, Seth not far behind her on either count. The first night of the Thorne era really had been one of mixed emotions.


	73. Chapter 73

Feeling down wasn't something that Seth had to deal with very often. He certainly wouldn't have expected it to be a problem the night after winning the Royal Rumble; the night his girl was back working the same shows as him. But the atmosphere on the bus had been so depressed, with two of their group now missing.

Elena had driven them for a couple of hours before parking up for the night. During that drive, there had hardly been any conversation. What little there had been had lacked any kind of energy. By the time they had stopped for the night, Seth had been glad to get to bed.

"Oh, baby," Zelina sighed as she snuggled up to him, lying on her side, and rested a hand on his stomach. "I knew I would miss Bobby and Joe, but I didn't think it would be this bad."

"I know," he mumbled, looking blankly up at the ceiling. "I guess you don't realise what you have until you lose it. Those guys were a pain in the ass most of the time, but I love them like brothers. I miss them already."

That was stating the obvious to say the least, but he sensed that it still tugged on Zelina's heartstrings. She nuzzled against his neck and kissed him softly. "I know," she breathed. "I miss them, too. But it could have been worse. We could have been put on separate shows. Imagine how bad that would have been."

"Don't," Seth groaned before kissing her lightly on the forehead. He couldn't even imagine how bad he would have felt in that circumstance. Luckily, WWE were usually accommodating when it came to that kind of thing. Lucy Thorne had apparently seen no reason to change that.

"Or Bay could have been put on the opposite show to us. Then it would have been us that had to leave the bus. I couldn't deal with not traveling with her and Daga."

"Yeah, I know," Seth agreed with a sigh. "I'm sure we'll be okay. It's just a big change tonight."

They lay there in silence for a moment, glad to have each other, even if the night did suck.

"Listen," Zelina suddenly whispered in his ear.

Seth tried to pick up on what she had noticed. He could hear quiet talking. It was Bayley and Elena, but he couldn't tell what they were saying to each other. He gave Zelina a questioning look, wondering if she was able to hear better than he could.

"Bay's helping Daga with her English," she whispered. "Isn't that the sweetest thing?"

"Oh, bless," Seth whispered back. "I thought I'd noticed Daga getting better over the past couple of months. She does a lot less of that turning things she says into a question thing now."

"I think that was more of a confidence issue. Like, she would say the right thing, but she wasn't sure if it was the right thing." Zelina paused for a second before adding, "I really love them, Seth. They're literally the best couple."

"Second best couple," he corrected, managing a smile for the first time since they had left the arena.

"Of course," she giggled. "Sega are the best couple. Everyone knows that."

Hearing them referred to as Sega always made Seth laugh. He finally felt the cloud of depression clearing from over him. "Thank you for trying to cheer me up, babe." He gave her another kiss on the forehead.

Zelina moaned softly in appreciation of the affectionate gesture. "You know, we could invite other people to travel with us," she suggested after a moment. "I know it wouldn't be the same as having Bobby and Joe back, but the bus wouldn't feel so empty."

She was right, Seth knew. Things would never be the same now that the original tour bus group had been broken up, but that didn't have to mean that only the four of them could travel together now. Getting another two friends on-board could be fun, but who? It would have to be people from the Raw roster.

"We'd have to speak to Bay and Daga, obviously," she went on. "But I'm thinking maybe we could invite Cesaro. I know you've been friends with him for a long time, and now I'm working with him. It seems to make sense, assuming he would be up for it, of course."

"Bay's good friends with Cesaro too, so yeah, I bet he'd be up for it." Seth noticed Zelina smiling, looking like she was going to start laughing. "What?"

She shook her head, still grinning. "We keep calling him Cesaro. It's weird. His name's Antonio."

Seth grunted a laugh. "True. But everyone calls him Cesaro now. It's weird to even think of him as anything else at this point. So, yeah, just stick to Cesaro."

"Alright. Let's say he joins us. That still leaves one spot. My friends are out. Sonya and Ronda are both still working Smackdown. That's something else that really sucks. Sonya has been so good to me since I made the main roster."

"She's a nice girl," Seth agreed. "She looks too much like Daga to ride on here with us, though. Bay wouldn't know which one she was supposed to be sleeping with."

Zelina burst out laughing loudly, the built up tension of the night possibly contributing to her over-the-top reaction. She was almost in hysterics, and it made Seth start laughing also.

"That's awful," she managed to say eventually.

"It's true," he protested, causing further laughter.

Once she had managed to calm down, she propped her head up on one hand, looking longingly at him. "I love you, baby. Can we talk about this some more in the morning?"

"I think that's a great idea." He pulled her to him, and they began to kiss. What better way to get over an unhappy evening than with some passionate lovemaking?

* * *

"Morning," Seth said to Bayley when he emerged from the bedroom at the back of the bus. He closed the curtain behind him to give Zelina some privacy for when she got up.

"Hey," Bayley said pleasantly. She was fixing herself some breakfast cereal in the small kitchen area. "I just made a pot of coffee. I'll fix you one now."

"Thanks." Walking down the bus to the living area, Seth heard water running in the bathroom. Elena was in the shower. "Zel and I were talking last night about how much it sucks not having Bobby and Joe with us now."

"It really does," Bayley agreed, adding half a spoon of sugar to the black coffee; just the way Seth liked it. She turned and handed it to him.

"Thanks, Bay. So, we were thinking we could invite a couple of people to join us. We know it still wouldn't be the same, but it would be good to have a full crew again."

Seth had sat down on the couch that he always shared with Zelina. Bayley followed his example on her own couch and said, "I mentioned it to Daga, too. We're happy to have new people join us, so long as they're the right ones."

"We both thought about Cesaro. He seems a natural fit. A good friend to us both, and now he's working with Zel."

"Agreed. I said to Daga I'd love it if he joined us. We could ask him when we get to the show tonight if you like?"

"I'll do it, no worries."

"Alright," Bayley smiled. "I was thinking about Becky. She was traveling with Sonya, but obviously that's not a thing now. Charlotte's a friend of hers too, but she's also on Smackdown now."

Seth nodded, thinking back to Charlotte's emotional return from injury as number twenty nine in the women's rumble match, which she had gone on to win. Rumours were that Lucy Thorne wanted Rousey – Flair at Wrestlemania, possibly as the main event. That would mean Ronda needed to win the Women's Championship at February's Elimination Chamber pay-per-view, but there was no reason why that couldn't happen.

But Becky was the topic of conversation, not Charlotte or Ronda. "I wouldn't have a problem with Becky," he decided. "She's always come across as nice when I've spoken to her, and I've never heard any bad stories about her."

Elena emerged from the bathroom then, hair wet and messy, needing the attention of a hairdryer. "Hello, Seth," she smiled.

"Morning, Daga," he smiled. "We were just talking about new travel buddies. We seem to all be happy with approaching Cesaro, so I'm going to talk to him later. Bay just mentioned Becky Lynch as a possibility, since she just lost Sonya as her travel partner."

"If you guys are happy with it, I'm happy with it," Elena said simply. She pulled a hairdryer out of a drawer and plugged it in. Just before she fired it up, Zelina emerged from behind the bedroom curtain, dressed in her underwear.

"I'll take the shower next, if that's okay?" she asked.

"Yeah," Seth said. "Bay and Daga are okay with asking Cesaro to join us. I'm going ask him tonight. We've just been discussing Becky. Obviously she's working with Bay, and she's just found herself without Sonya to travel with."

Zelina gave a tired early morning smile. "Okay. She's your friend, Bay. If you vouch for her, that's good enough for me. She's always been nice enough in the locker room."

"Then it's decided," Bayley said happily. "Seth will talk to Cesaro when we get to the arena, and I'll talk to Becky."

With the plan agreed upon, Zelina disappeared into the bathroom and Elena turned on the hairdryer. Seth downed his hot coffee as quickly as he could manage, and got up. "That thing is too noisy," he said to Bayley, who probably didn't hear him.

There was only one thing on his mind, and it didn't have anything to do with a hairdryer. He walked over to the bathroom and thankfully found the door unlocked. "Room for another in there?" he asked over the noise of the water after he closed and locked the door behind him.

Zelina had her back to him, the water spraying directly onto her face. "Yes, baby," she said, her voice fluttering slightly.

Her reaction turned Seth on. She knew what he had come for, and she wanted it. Even so, she made no attempt to move. He undressed as quickly as he could and climbed into the shower cubicle, wishing, not for the first time, that it was bigger.

"Mmmm," Zelina purred when he stepped up behind her, letting her feel his hardening length against the small of her back.

"Good morning, muñeca," he said gruffly, slipping his hands around her waist.

"Morning baby," she gasped as he moved his right hand lower.

"Lovely and warm," he breathed, not referring to the shower water. He had slipped two fingers into her.

Zelina relaxed against him as he began to work his magic, moving his fingers rhythmically as he stroked her clit with his thumb.

Seth enjoyed feeling her respond to him, and hearing her breathing getting heavier. "That's it, babe," he encouraged, using his other hand to start massaging her breasts. "That's it."

A soft moan escaped Zelina a couple of minutes later as she started to approach her peak. Looking down at her, Seth saw that she had her eyes closed, either against the water or to make the experience feel even better, and she was biting her bottom lip hard. She didn't want to be too loud with her orgasm – always a problem on the bus.

Despite her attempts to control herself, she moaned loudly when she reached her peak. Seth felt her convulse against him as she came. "Oh, baby," she gasped twice. Then it was over.

"I figured we'd start the day off right," he said after removing his fingers. He stepped back slightly so that he could reach down and kiss the side of her neck.

For the first time since he had entered the shower, Zelina turned around. With the water running down her stunningly attractive naked body, she looked like the definition of the word perfect to Seth. "I'm a lucky guy, muñeca," he said gruffly.

"Not as lucky as I am," she replied, looking at his rock hard cock and licking her lips.

Without either of them needing to say anything further, she got down on her knees and took him in her mouth. As she began massaging his shaft with her hand, she licked around the tip, moaning in pleasure to heighten the experience for him. Within a few minutes, he was groaning softly in delight at the amazing sensations she was giving him.

He knew what was coming next. Her technique was always very similar. Now that she had him nicely aroused, she pushed his foreskin back with her lips, then nibbled at him softly, just below where his tip met his shaft. Simultaneous, she quickened the pace of her hand movements, ready to allow him to come.

"Mmmm," she purred, letting him feel the vibrations of her voice along his length. It was enough to push him over the edge. Grunting loudly, he released into her mouth over the course of two gentle thrusts, moving with her head movements.

"Fuck, babe," he groaned as he stepped back, looking at his fluid dribbling down her chin. "Are you going to swallow for me?"

Zelina gulped down what was left in her mouth. Standing back up, she said, "I think you should help me wash, after that."

Stepping forward again, Seth embraced her. "I think I can manage that."


	74. Chapter 74

Now that they had moved shows, Zelina took an end locker in the Raw women's locker room, next to Bayley. Becky would change on the other side of her on-screen partner. Zelina missed the days when she would have her close friend Sonya Deville next to her every night. Having two rosters really did suck. But at least Sonya was being used more often as a wrestler these days, and had been announced for the upcoming Elimination Chamber match at the pay-per-view of the same name.

The locker room door opened and Sasha Banks walked in, pulling a travel case behind her and carrying her Money in the Bank briefcase.

"Oh, Christ," Zelina groaned quietly. "I thought I'd gotten rid of her."

"Don't be like that, Zel," Bayley said.

Zelina hadn't considered the fact that for some reason Bayley and Sasha were friends, even though it made no sense. They seemed to be such opposite people that a friendship should have been inconceivable. But Zelina didn't begrudge it to Bayley; that would have made her the bad person.

"Sorry, Bay," she opted to say. "But what's she doing here? They moved Nia to Smackdown, and she took the belt with her. Sasha's not on a tag team, so why would she be here?"

"You could always go ask her?" Bayley encouraged, implying that it might result in an olive branch being extended. Zelina seriously doubted that.

"For what it's worth, I agree," Becky said. "I know there's heat between you. Maybe you could talk it out?"

Zelina restrained herself from saying, "Maybe I don't want to talk it out?" Snapping at Becky just a few days after she had joined the tour bus wouldn't be a good thing from anyone's point if view. They were still getting to know each other.

Both women were looking expectantly at Zelina. She now felt that she would look like a petulant child if she refused to go and talk to Banks. How exactly had she gotten herself into this situation? But then, she thought, maybe they were right? Maybe it was time to try and move past the personal beef with Sasha? I had been stupid all along, she had to admit. One of them was going to have to be the bigger person at some point. She decided it might as well be her.

Getting up, Zelina sighed and then walked over to where Sasha had started taking some ring attire out of her case and setting it in front of the vacant locker she had chosen. "Hi, Sasha," Zelina said, trying to sound friendly.

Banks turned around and looked at her, no particular emotion registering on her face. "Oh, hey. I think you want the next locker room down. It's wrestlers in here."

Zelina felt genuinely hurt by that jab, so much so that it didn't even start firing her temper up all that much. "What do you have to be like that for? Anyway, I am a wrestler."

"No, you're a manager. Your job is to talk, so you might as well go change with Renee and Charly next door."

"Alright, you know what? Forget it," Zelina spat. "I came over here because Bay wanted me to make an effort to end the bad blood between us. But fuck it, what's the point? You can go to hell for all I care." With that, she stormed back over to her friends.

"What happened?" Bayley asked, clearly not happy with what she had picked up on from the two women's body language.

"Waste of time," Zelina reported. "All she wanted to do was take a shot at me, trying to make out that I'm not a wrestler anymore and rubbing it in my face. Fuck her, I'm done."

"No, I'm done," Bayley said heatedly, an extreme rarity for her. "I'm done with both of you acting like this. Come with me."

"What?" Zelina objected.

"I said come with me. I've had enough. The two of you are going to talk this crap out, right now."

Knowing that refusing would alienate Bayley, Zelina sighed once more and trailed after her as she walked over to Sasha.

"Sasha, come with me," Bayley said as they approached her.

"What for?" Sasha demanded, no more enthusiastic about the idea than Zelina had been.

"The two of you are going to sit down and talk out your issues. You're both my friends, and I'm sick of you not getting along. You both need to grow up and move on."

Zelina had to hold back from saying that she wasn't the one who needed to grow up. She realised that by taking that attitude, she wouldn't exactly have been helping her cause.

"I don't know that I've got anything to say to her," Sasha said indifferently.

"Well you'd better find something," Bayley said, taking no nonsense. "Come on, we're going to sit down over coffee."

That was the decision made. The group of three left the locker room and walked down the hallway to the catering area in silence. Zelina made a point of not looking at Sasha, to make clear that she was doing this under duress. In any case, she knew that Banks felt the exact same way.

A few minutes later, they were sitting down at a table in catering. Bayley and Sasha had a coffee in front of them, while Zelina sat opposite them with a cup of herbal tea in her hand.

"Now, no one is leaving this table until the two of you talk out you problems like adults," Bayley said firmly. "Sasha, why don't you start? What exactly is your problem with Zel?"

Banks looked at Bayley as she replied. "I don't like the way she got pushed for no reason when she…"

"No," Bayley interrupted. "Don't talk to me, talk to Zelina."

"Fine," Sasha said grumpily. She directed her attention to Zelina and started again. "I don't like the way you got pushed as a wrestler for no reason. You paid no dues. You didn't even wrestle a match in NXT, damn it. Then all of sudden you're on the main roster, wrestling Ronda Rousey. Why did you get that opportunity before most of the rest of us, huh?"

Zelina shook her head in exasperation. "You think I know the answer to that? Do I look like I'm on the booking committee around here? I turn up every week and do what I'm asked, the same as you do. All I can tell you is I signed for WWE as a wrestler. I never intended or wanted to be a manager, but they gave me the gig with Andrade. Since I'd been given it, I did it to the best of my ability, and people ended up rating me as a manager. I got the call up based on that because they wanted me to manage Seth. It wasn't my choice. And when they started using me as a wrestler, that wasn't my choice, either. I know you think I was getting preferential treatment because I'm with Seth, but that's not true. I never asked for anything I was given."

Sasha had a doubtful expression on her face. "So I'm expected to believe that the fact you're with Seth, who we all know is Hunter's guy, had nothing to do with the fact that you got pushed to the moon on Smackdown, the show that Hunter was booking?"

"Yeah, you are," Zelina fired back, starting to get hot under the collar.

"Sash, Zel's not like that, okay?" Bayley interjected gently. "I get why it might have seemed like that to you, but I'll vouch for her without a shadow of doubt. I saw what it meant to her when she got to wrestle Ronda, and then when she got booked to win the title at Summerslam. She never asked for any of it, or played any politics. At least, not that I ever had a clue about."

Sasha looked a little sour, but she took a moment to sip from her coffee. "That true?" she eventually asked Zelina.

"Yes," she replied icily. "Like I just told you, I come here and do my job. Hunter told me I was going over at Summerslam, so I went out there and did it. Now Thorne is in charge, and she told me she wants to use me as a manager with Cesaro, so guess what? That's what I'm doing. Why don't you tell me something: If Hunter had told you that you were in that Summerslam match and you were going over, would you have tried to turn him down?"

Sipping her coffee again, Sasha said nothing.

"Well?" Zelina prompted, determined not to let her question go unanswered. "Or what about when you were told you were returning in the Money in the Bank match, and you were going to win it? Did you say no?"

"Of course I didn't," Sasha said impatiently.

"Exactly, so why should I act any differently? Because I didn't wrestle in NXT? That makes no sense. Honestly, I think you were jealous of me because I got to be the first Women's Champion."

Sasha rolled her eyes. "Oh, please. Jealous of you? What is there to be jealous of?"

"Stop it, both of you," Bayley said. "We're here to work things out, not to start another argument."

"The only way that's going to happen is if she apologises for calling me a ring rat, and for claiming that I got anything in this business by game playing," Zelina said flatly. "I'm with Seth because I love him, and no other reason. And, as I already said, I've never once asked Hunter for anything since I signed for this company. Everything I got, I got because he felt I deserved it, whether anyone else agrees with him or not."

Bayley looked at Sasha. "I think that's fair enough, Sash. You shouldn't have called her a ring rat. That's not on at all."

After closing her eyes for a second, Sasha sighed. "Fine. I'm sorry for calling you a ring rat. And if you're telling me face to face that you never pulled any bullshit with Hunter to try and get ahead, I guess I accept it. Bay certainly seems to believe you."

"As well she should believe me," Zelina said crossly. "I'm not a liar. Again, all I do is come to work and do my job, the same as everyone else. I don't expect to take abuse for doing it, from you or anybody."

Sasha took another long sip from her cup, still looking less than happy about having to concede ground.

"Come on, Sash," Bayley encouraged. "I really hate to see you guys not getting along, because I love you both. There's literally no reason for you not to like Zel, honestly. She's been a really good friend to me since we started travelling together."

"I don't expect us to be friends," Zelina put in. "Frankly, I don't know if that can happen after what's been said. But we can agree to be civil to each other. Let's be honest, we're working for the same company; we're going to continue spending time in the same locker rooms as each other. At least, unless I start changing with Renee," she had to add sarcastically. That barb was still stinging.

Looking at Bayley, who had an expectant and hopeful look on her face, Sasha relented. "Okay, I'm sorry for saying that. I was just trying to get a reaction from you. You're a very good manager. I don't think anyone disputes that."

"Thank you," Zelina said, realising that accepting the compliment was going to be the key to mending fences. "I never wanted to be a manager, but I guess I have a talent for it. I've come to enjoy it now, so if I have to do that instead of wrestling, it is what it is."

"I'm sure they'll still use you in matches from time to time, right?" Sasha asked, more openly than anything that had been said so far.

Zelina saw Bayley smile, delighted that the ice showed signs of being broken. She decided that it was her turn to try and find something positive to say. "I hope so. But what about you? Are they ever going to have you cash that briefcase in?"

"You tell me," Banks shrugged. "I'm sure you've heard the same thing as I have about Thorne wanting Ronda and Charlotte at Wrestlemania. So I won't be cashing in before then. I'm just hoping they don't have me lose, whenever I do cash in."

Part of Zelina still found that idea amusing, but she managed not to let it show. "That would suck. I hate it when they have people cash in and fail, it makes a mockery of the whole idea of a Money in the Bank briefcase."

"I agree," Bayley said. "But they had Finn succeed with his last year. Hopefully it'll be the same for you. There's a few months left yet for you, though."

Zelina sat and drank her tea for a couple of minutes while the other two talked about the prospective Money in the Bank cash in. She had to admit that she felt glad to have gotten on a better footing with Sasha. Although she was more than willing to give as good as she got if things got confrontational, she much preferred to get along with the people she worked with. It was much easier to be a positive person than a negative one.

"So, you're traveling with Becky and Cesaro now?" Sasha asked Zelina to make conversation, even though it wasn't really a question.

"Yeah," she smiled. "We didn't like the bus with only four of us on it, so we had to choose a couple of people to invite to join us."

Sasha laughed, then actually made a joke. "And I wasn't top of the list?"

"Uh, no, not exactly," Zelina grinned. "Somehow, Becky scraped in ahead of you. Cesaro's not actually traveling with us yet, though. He had booked and paid for all of his hotel rooms up until tonight, so tonight will be his first night on the bus."

"So you'll get to find out if her snores," Sasha said with a hint of a smile.

Zelina acknowledged the humour with a small smile of her own. "He can't be as bad as Joe." She paused, then said, "Hey, why are you here on Raw, anyway?"

"I've got an in-ring promo to do, entering myself for the Elimination Chamber match."

"Oh, right," Zelina said, figuring that she could have probably guessed that. Finished with her tea, she set the empty cup down on the table.

Seeing that, Sasha downed the rest of her coffee, the last to finish drinking. She got up and said, "Can I get anyone another drink?"

"I'll go for another coffee," Bayley said sweetly.

Zelina didn't want any more tea, but she decided to accept the offer anyway for the positive signal it would send. "Yeah, that would be nice."

After Sasha left the table, Bayley smiled at Zelina. "I knew you guys could figure it out if you just talked to each other."

The temptation was there for Zelina to say that she wasn't the one who had come with the attitude in the first place, but there would have been nothing to gain from that. Instead, she gave a pleasant smile. "Hopefully we've drawn a line under it now."

* * *

 


	75. Chapter 75

_Monday Night Raw – February 4th 2018_

Raw's commissioner Shane McMahon opened the second episode of the Thorne era. There was still a lot of hype around the change in management after the impressive start that had been made the previous week. The arena was almost sold out, which was remarkable of late for an episode that wasn't directly following one of the big pay-per-views.

Shane began by addressing the qualifying matches for the men's Elimination Chamber match at the upcoming pay-per-view, which would be for the Universal Championship. With that done, he moved on to the second item on his agenda.

"That brings me to another of Raw's championships. Last week, we saw Sami Zayn defend his Intercontinental title against the returning Cesaro, in one of the matches of the night." The mention of Cesaro's name drew some mild booing from the crowd.

"While it was a very good match, what concerns me was what happened after Sami got the victory. He was savagely attacked with a steel chair by Cesaro, and sustained multiple injuries as a result." This time there was some louder booing, which made Shane pause for a moment. Waiting for the noise to die down, he looked less than pleased with the news he had to give next.

"Unfortunately, I have to report to you now that thanks to those injuries, including badly bruised ribs and a bruised knee, Sami Zayn will be out of action until Elimination Chamber. Cesaro, I don't like having my top stars put on the shelf, especially not because of a cowardly act like we saw last week from you. We don't handle our business like that on Monday Night Raw, and I'm not going to stand for it. So, what I've decided to do is…"

Shane was interrupted by Zelina's music hitting, making him turn to face the stage.

"Now this is getting interesting," Corey Graves said on commentary as Vega walked out onto the stage, looking a lot less than happy. "Zelina Vega is coming out here. We learned last week that she is now Cesaro's business manager. She's coming out her without her client, though."

"That's right, Vega is now managing Cesaro," Renee said. "And, as far as I recall, she was actually the one who instigated the vicious attack on Sami Zayn. She delivered the first blow with the chair, then ordered Cesaro to 'finish it'."

"You're right. And do you know what that's called, Renee? It's called making a statement. Sami Zayn has been undefeated for six months, yet Cesaro took him apart last week."

"Yes, with an attack from behind with a weapon," Renee pointed out. "Before that, Sami Zayn pinned Cesaro in the middle of the ring."

Zelina had made her way down to the ring and climbed up the steps. Politely, Shane parted the ropes for her to enter, not that the gesture seemed to improve her mood any. She walked over and fetched a microphone as her music faded out.

"I don't think we've met. Shane McMahon," the commissioner said, offering his hand.

Showing little enthusiasm, Zelina accepted the handshake. "Zelina Vega. I'm the business manager for The Swiss Superman, Cesaro. I thought we had made that perfectly clear last week, but I guess not, since you're out here addressing my client directly. Let's get one thing straight: if you have something to say, you say it to me."

Shane gave the crowd a theatrical 'listen to this girl' look as they booed her for her haughty attitude. "Alright, you want me to address you on behalf of your client, I'll address you," he said tolerantly. "I know we've not worked with each other before, so let me explain how things work on my show. We don't attack people from behind with steel chairs after matches. We don't attempt to injure people for no good reason. That kind of behaviour will not be tolerated."

The only emotion Zelina showed was impatience. "You're right, we haven't worked together before, so let me explain something to you. There is only one thing I care about, and that is whatever is in my client's best interests. Last week, a message needed to be sent that Cesaro is not here to play games. Yes, Sami Zayn won the match by getting a lucky three count over my client, but he certainly didn't leave the ring looking like any kind of winner I ever saw. With the beating my client issued, he put the entire Raw roster on notice that Cesaro is not here to play games. He is here to dominate Monday nights, and from this point on, that's exactly what's going to happen, and he doesn't care how he has to go about it."

More boos came her way, but they only seemed to fire her up even more. "Oh, you can boo all you want," she shouted, rounding on the fans. "It makes no difference. Do you think Cesaro and I care about what you idiots think? We don't care. We couldn't care less. You can all kiss my ass." A loud volley of boos and abuse were hurled at her.

"Zelina Vega showing how to make friends and influence people," Renee said sarcastically.

"Thank you for that delightful little monologue," Shane said dryly. "Let me take a wild guess: you're out here to demand another shot at the Intercontinental Championship?"

"You're very perceptive," Zelina said condescendingly. "Sami Zayn got lucky last week. Sami knows it; Cesaro knows it; I know it; you know it; even this bunch of inbred cretins know it." She looked at the fans with contempt while they booed her loudly. "So yes, I want another title shot for Cesaro against Sami Zayn."

"Well, if you hadn't been so keen to come out here, interrupting me and mouthing off, you would have found out that I already made a match between Sami Zayn and Cesaro for Elimination Chamber, and the Intercontinental Championship will be on the line."

"That's a huge announcement!" Renee exclaimed over a cheer from the crowd.

Shane said, "To clarify, the match is happening not because you or Cesaro want it, but because Sami Zayn asked for it. He might not be cleared for a few weeks after what happened last Monday, but he does want revenge on Cesaro, and I've given him the opportunity to get it."

Looking at Shane derisively, Zelina shook her head. "You think you've done Sami Zayn a favour, McMahon? Allow me to put you in the picture. What you've done by making that match is condemn Sami Zayn to receive one hell of a beating, and you've signalled the end of his reign as Intercontinental Champion, because what you saw after the match last week? That was just the start." With that ominous message delivered, she dropped her microphone and made her way across the ring to leave as her music began to play.

"I don't like the sound of that from Sami Zayn's point of view," Renee said. "A strong claim indeed, made by Zelina Vega."

"That was no claim, Renee," Graves said. "That was Zelina telling us how it's going to be at Elimination Chamber. Sami faced Cesaro once, and he left with bruised ribs and a banged up knee. There's more where that came from, and don't forget that Cesaro will also have Vega in his corner. I get the feeling that Zayn is on borrowed time with that Intercontinental Championship."

"Time will tell. One thing I've learned over the past six months is that you can never count out Sami Zayn. He's successfully defended that title against seemingly insurmountable odds before. There's no reason why he can't win again in three weeks at Elimination Chamber."

"I'll give you one reason. That woman right there. Zelina Vega has the potential to be decisive in any encounter," Graves said as a cameraman followed her up onto the stage and kept the shot on her while she walked through the curtain to the back.

Unusually, the segment continued. A moment later, the shot changed to show Zelina backstage, walking out of Gorilla into a hallway. She looked very pleased with herself after, as she saw it, putting Shane McMahon in his place. However, her expression changed to one of contempt when she was approached by Sami Zayn, who stood there with bandaging around his ribs and around his right knee.

"Zelina. What I don't understand is why you felt the need to hit me with a chair after the match last week? And why was it necessary to have Cesaro try and injure me? I've never made a secret of the fact that I'll wrestle anyone for the Intercontinental Championship. If you wanted a rematch, all you had to do was ask."

Zelina looked at him as if he was an extraordinarily simple child. "You don't get it? Well get this."

On cue, a steel chair slammed into Zayn's back with a loud crack, sending him collapsing to the floor. Cesaro was the culprit.

"Do you get it now?" Zelina screamed at the fallen champion.

Raising the chair high into the air, Cesaro brought it crashing down onto Zayn's back, making him scream in pain at the battering his already injured ribs were taking.

"Do you get it now?" Zelina screamed again. "This is what happens when you're on the wrong side of The Swiss Superman and La Arquitecta!"

Writhing in pain, Sami had ended up lying on his back, protecting his body as best he could with his arms. Cesaro hammered him with the chair again. The blow produced another agonised scream from the champion.

"Do you get it now?" Zelina yelled for a final time. Satisfied with her client's work, she gave him a stiff slap on the chest and said, "Let's go."

As his two assailants walked away, Zayn was shown curled up on the floor, groaning in pain.

Graves ended the segment with a couple of questions. "If Sami Zayn was struggling with injury before, what about now? Will he even make it to Elimination Chamber?"

* * *

Later that night, it was time for Cesaro to final bring the tour bus up to a full compliment. Zelina, Bayley and Becky had met up with Seth and Cesaro outside the men's locker room, so they all walked out into the parking garage together.

"I've been looking forward to this," Cesaro said as they approached the bus. "Good company, and traveling in luxury."

"I don't know whose bus he thinks he's going on," Becky said with a grin.

"Doesn't sound much like ours," Seth joined in, drawing chuckles from the others.

The bus was sitting with it's door open. Having heard their voices, Elena walked down the steps with a happy smile on her face. "Hi, everyone."

Bayley handled the introductions. "Antonio Cesaro, this is our driver, and my girlfriend, Elena D'Agostino."

"Really nice to meet you," Cesaro said, accepting the offered handshake. "Just call me Cesaro, everyone else does."

"Okay," Elena smiled. "And you can call me Daga. Only my mom calls me Elena, and it makes me feel like I'm in trouble."

"Daga," Cesaro acknowledged with a smile. "You're Italian?"

Elena replied in Italian, and just like that they were off, babbling away in their second common language.

Seth raised his eyebrows to Bayley as they busied themselves with loading everyone's cases into the luggage compartment. Becky and Zelina had gone onto the bus.

"Now we're never going to know what they're saying about us," Bayley giggled.

Seth laughed. "Only good things about you. Me? I'm not so sure."

"Aww, don't say that. Daga loves you all, you know that."

"Of course. I'm just playing," Seth assured her.

"Sorry, guys," Cesaro said, approaching them. "I should have helped with the loading."

"We're good," Seth told him easily. "But it's your first night on the bus, so you know what that means."

"No?" he asked, even though he probably had a good idea.

"The beer is on you," Becky helped out from on the bus, apparently able to hear the conversation.

"Beer on me. Let's do it," Cesaro said with a warm smile, trailing the rest of the group onto the bus.


	76. Chapter 76

_WWE Elimination Chamber – February 24th 2019_

Standing behind the curtain in Gorilla with Cesaro and Sami Zayn, Zelina listened to the promo package for their match playing in the arena. The audio mostly consisted of snippets of commentary and her voice, since she had been given most of the build work to do, with Sami out of action with his kayfabe rib and knee injuries.

While reverting to role of managing had been seen by many as a demotion, the fact that she had been given almost sole responsibility for building Cesaro's first rivalry as her client indicated how much faith Lucy Thorne had in her abilities. It was a nice vote of confidence to get, and it bode well for the future. A lot of dirt sheet websites were already talking about Cesaro as a future Universal Champion now that Zelina Vega was adding the missing to his game – good promo work.

But even if that was on the agenda at some point, it was a way off. The job at hand was a match for the Intercontinental Championship. As Cesaro's music hit, Zelina got her head in the game. It was time for their first pay-per-view appearance together.

"Here he comes, Renee," Corey Graves said on commentary as the challenger and his manager entered the arena. "My pick to end Sami Zayn's almost seven month undefeated streak and leave tonight with the Intercontinental Championship, Cesaro."

"There can be no doubt about it, Cesaro has a great chance tonight," Renee conceded. "But don't ever count out Sami Zayn. We've seen him overcome the odds so many times to keep the Intercontinental title around his waist. I'm not going to bet against him now, even after what we've seen in recent weeks."

Cesaro and Zelina stood at the top of the entrance ramp, both delivering the trademark double-fisted pose.

"One thing we can both agree on," Renee went on, "is that Zelina Vega has been a game changer for Cesaro. Under her leadership, he has shown more determination, more ruthlessness. Whether you like it or not, and I personally don't to be honest, you have to admit it makes him much more of a threat."

"Sami Zayn would certainly agree," Graves said. "We haven't seen him in three weeks, thanks to two brutal attacks from Cesaro, masterminded by Vega. Sami was left with rib and knee injuries, and we don't even know what condition he's going to be in here tonight, if he even shows up."

"Sami will show up. I have no doubt about that," Renee insisted as Zelina led Cesaro into the ring. They made their pose again for the crowd, standing next to the ropes. Some boos came their way, but they were not yet close to being hated as much as The Vega Cartel had once been. It took time to build up that kind of animosity.

After Cesaro's theme faded out, there was a short pause before Sami's music replaced it. He received quite a generous ovation. When he walked out onto the stage, the most noticeable thing was the considerable bandaging wrapped around his ribs.

"Well, Sami Zayn is here," Graves said. "But looking at him, I don't know how good of a condition he's in. It might not be the best course of action for him to go through with this match. It might be better if he forfeited the title to Cesaro and came back to fight another day."

"That's not going to happen," Renee said dismissively. "If Zayn is going to go down tonight, he'll go down fighting. That's just the kind of guy he is."

The fans sang along to Sami's music as he made his way to the ring. Selling the injuries, he refrained from his usually enthusiastic style of entrance.

"You can tell Sami Zayn is in pain here," Graves said. "And of course the first thing Cesaro is going to do when the bell rings is go after those ribs."

With both competitors in the ring, Greg Hamilton stood ready to make his announcements. "This contest is scheduled for one fall, and it is for the WWE Intercontinental Championship! Introducing first, the challenger…"

Standing next to him, Zelina snatched the microphone out of his hand, glaring up at him. "Only one person gets to introduce my client, and that's me," she told him stridently, drawing some boos from the fans.

"Obnoxious as ever," Renee muttered as Zelina theatrically cleared her throat, ready to begin.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Zelina shouted, "the challenger, the next Intercontinental Champion, from Lucerne, Switzerland, The Swiss Superman, Cesaro!"

"Masterful," Graves opined. "Add being a ring announcer to Zelina Vega's list of talents."

With her part in the ceremonies completed, Zelina tossed the microphone back to Hamilton, who caught it and picked up from where she had left off.

"And his opponent, from Montreal, Quebec…"

"Oh, wait!" Renee cried out.

Cesaro hadn't waited for the start of the match. As Zayn had been preoccupied with taking off his title belt in order to hand it to the referee, he had been blindsided with a powerful uppercut which had almost turned his lights out. With that done, Cesaro got down and pounded away at his opponent's face with aggressive right hands, Zelina yelling encouragement and orders from across the ring.

"The match hasn't even started, and Cesaro is hammering away at Sami Zayn!" Renee protested. "This is not right! The referee needs to stop this awful attack!"

"That's exactly what he's doing," Graves reported.

The referee grabbed hold of Cesaro and literally dragged him away from Sami, but not fast enough to prevent a stiff kick being delivered to the champion's already injured ribs.

"What a vicious kick to the ribs. You can hear Sami Zayn literally screaming in pain," Renee said. "There's no way this match can go on now. Cesaro should have just blown his shot at the Intercontinental Championship."

With Cesaro backed up into his corner, receiving some heated booing for his actions, the referee went back over to Zayn to check on him. "Can you go, Sami?" he was heard asking. "I can throw it out if you want me to?"

"No," Sami gasped through the pain. "No. Ring the bell."

"Are you sure?"

"Ring the bell!" Sami shouted defiantly, trying to get up.

The ref insisted on Sami making it to his feet before he would start the match. As soon as Zayn managed to haul himself up, the bell was sounded and Cesaro went right back to work, sprinting across the ring and kicking him straight in the ribs.

After that start, the so-called match proved to be more of a one-sided beating than a contest. Cesaro was able to have his way with Zayn for most of the next ten minutes, but no matter what he tried, nothing got him the decisive three count that he so desperately needed. His frustration eventually boiled over and caused him to take the action outside the ring. That was where Sami turned the tide, sending Cesaro face first into the ring post.

"Come on, Sami!" Renee encouraged over a loud cheer from the crowd. "Get him back in the ring!"

Zayn set about doing exactly that, hauling the challenger up of the floor, having difficulty because of his badly injured ribs. Eventually, after a struggle, Cesaro was deposited under the bottom rope.

Seemingly from nowhere, Zelina came running along the ring apron. Leaping into the air, she was able to wrap her legs around Sami's neck to deliver a hurracanrana, which sent him flying face first into the nearby ring steps.

"Damn it!" Renee cried. "Just when Sami Zayn was fighting back, Zelina Vega got involved! It was a blatant disqualification, but the referee was checking on Cesaro and missed it."

"And now look at Vega," Graves added.

Zelina was literally screaming at Cesaro to get out of the ring and capitalise on her attack.

Coming to his senses, Cesaro realised what the situation was. He rolled under the bottom rope and scrambled Zayn back into the ring, making a cover as quickly as he could.

"Not this way," Renee pleaded.

One.

Two.

Zayn kicked out once more, to an eruption of support from the fans, literally trying to will him to stay in the fight.

"How is Sami Zayn doing this?" Graves demanded incredulously. "He simply will not stay down!"

Cesaro was livid. He practically jumped to his feet, remonstrating with the referee that it should have been a three count.

Backing up into the corner, the referee repeatedly indicated that the shoulder had been up in time.

While that argument was going on, Zayn had rolled out of the ring to the floor on the opposite side to Zelina. She looked up to confirm that the referee was distracted, then briskly set off around the ring, a look of angry determination on her face.

Seeing what she was doing, some of the fans began calling out, trying to warn Sami of the impending danger.

"Wait, where's she going?" Renee objected.

Zelina marched around the first corner of the ring on her way to apparently attack Sami. She didn't make it to the second one. A woman with long dark hair came jumping over the ringside barrier and absolutely poleaxed her with a spear-like takedown.

"Who the... who is that?" Graves demanded as the mystery woman furiously punched away at Zelina.

The crowd didn't know either, but they were cheering whoever it was anyway. The mystery assailant ragged Zelina back to her feet in a crouching position. The woman then jumped on Zelina's back, facing in the opposite direction to her. The awkward-looking position was quickly turned into a sunset flip powerbomb, to the delight of the crowd.

"Wait! I know that move!" Renee yelled. As she did so, a cameraman managed to get the first good shot of the assailant's face.

"That's Melina!" Graves shouted as the fans who recognised her melted down for the huge return. "Melina! What is she doing here?"

"I have no idea why, but she took out Zelina Vega!" Renee exclaimed.

In the ring, Cesaro had been distracted by the chaos on the outside. Seeing his manager taken out meant that his attention was not where it should have been: on Sami Zayn. By the time he turned back around, it was too late. Zayn was already running at him.

"Helluva Kick!" Renee called as the devastating finishing move slammed into the side of Cesaro's face. "Zayn into the cover!"

The fans all joined in with the count.

"One!"

"Two!"

"Three!"

"Zayn wins! Zayn wins!" Renee shouted.

"This is ridiculous!" Graves objected as Melina was shown shouting angrily at the remains of Vega, lying splattered on the floor as if she had fallen from a third floor window. "This is all that woman's fault! What is Melina doing here? Why did she attack Zelina Vega?"

Renee said, "I don't have answers to those questions, but I do know that somehow, some way, Sami Zayn is still the Intercontinental Champion!"

There was no victory celebration from the champion, who was still lying there covering the unconscious Cesaro. Both men were totally out of it.

The only person able to walk away from the carnage was Melina, who walked up the entrance ramp with a furious expression on her face. Even the beating she had given to Zelina had apparently not been enough for her.

"That woman right there just cost Cesaro the Intercontinental Championship," Graves said. "Is Melina back in WWE? If she is, she'd better hope Zelina Vega doesn't get her hands on her."

"I'll tell you what Vega won't be getting her hands on," Renee said to bring the segment to an end as the shot returned to the ring. "The Intercontinental Championship, because against all the odds, it still belongs to Sami Zayn. What a win!"


	77. Chapter 77

As the losers of the match, Cesaro and Zelina were required to exit down the side of the entrance ramp, walking through the curtain at the end of the stage.

"What a pop that was for Melina," Cesaro said once they were safely in the back.

Zelina could not have been happier about it. Melina had been a good friend of hers for several years. Indeed, they had often travelled to indy shows together before Zelina had scored her WWE contract. Back then, the idea of Melina returning to the company had been almost inconceivable because of issues she had with the company's management. Now, with the arrival of Lucy Thorne, those issues had apparently been left in the past.

When Zelina had walked into the locker room before the show and found Melina in there, her mind had been blown. The news had gotten even better when she had learned that they would be working a program together. After suffering a very serious knee injury over a year ago at an indy event, Melina was no longer able to compete full time as a wrestler, but she was good for having occasional matches. Thorne had signed her on that basis.

"It was incredible," Zelina replied as they set off in the direction of Gorilla. "I'm so happy for her, man. Working with her for WWE is going to be something really special for me."

"She looked like she hasn't lost a step either," he said.

"Agreed. And after the knee injury she got a year or so back, that's pretty remarkable. They told her initially that was probably her career in the ring finished. By my girl is made of tougher stuff than that."

"The two of you are close, then? It sure sounds like it, the way you talk about her."

Zelina nodded. "We've been friends for years. I'll even forgive her for not telling me she had signed. I couldn't believe it when she was in the locker room earlier. It's a shame there's not room for one more on the bus because I'd love to have her travel with us."

"I could always make myself scarce," he said with a chuckle.

"You know that's not what I meant," she said. "It's just a shame the bus isn't a bit bigger, that's all."

They were approaching Gorilla. Melina walked out into the hallway and looked in their direction. "There's my Zel!" she called out.

"That was amazing, girl!" Zelina said excitedly, hurrying into her friend's arms for a hug. "That reaction you got gave me goosebumps, I swear."

"You're not the only one," Melina said, hugging her tightly for a second before they parted. "It was so bad having to miss two women's rumble matches, not that I would have been fit to compete in the first one anyway."

"You're here now, that's the main thing," Zelina said happily. "And what a great start we got off to. But what I want to know is where we go from here."

"I might be able to help you with that. Who wants to hear about the plans for you at Wrestlemania?"

Zelina turned, recognising the English accent immediately. Lucy Thorne had walked out of Gorilla, followed by Sami Zayn, who was holding his title belt in one hand.

"Good match," Zayn said to Cesaro just before the two men exchanged a brief hug.

"Yeah, great job, man," Cesaro replied, slapping him on the back during the hug.

Zelina saw one of Lucy's cheeks twitch slightly, a sign of irritation. Clearly she was used to automatically being the centre of attention when she had something to say. That was confirmed by her choice of words.

"When you're ready…" she said with more than a hint of ice in it.

"Sorry," Cesaro said quickly.

From that exchange, Zelina learned a lesson. When Lucy Thorne was in transmit mode, everyone else needed to be in receive mode unless they wanted to risk being on the end of a tongue lashing. Cesaro and Sami had gotten away with it, just.

Letting the discretion slide, Lucy began by describing the creative plans as far as Melina's addition to the Zayn/Cesaro storyline was concerned. Listening attentively, Zelina nodded her approval at what she was hearing. It was a fairly simple angle, but it would definitely serve the purpose that it was needed for. The others asked some questions, but Zelina chose not to. The rest of them seemed to have it covered.

"So," Lucy said, "that's how we establish the Melina – Zelina rivalry. I wish one of you had a different name, because that just sounds weird now that I say it out loud."

"You can refer to Zel as Vega," Melina suggested.

"The Melina – Vega rivalry," Lucy tried. "Yes, that's better. Even so, I think it'll be better if we refer to you as Melina Perez from now on. Change your name on your social media when you can, please."

None of that had been phrased as a question. Melina just stood there and took it, knowing that it was an order.

"Anyway, that's how we get this thing started," Lucy said, moving swiftly on. "We'll be mainly using you, Melina, as a manager for Sami, with Zelina obviously managing Cesaro. But at Wrestlemania, all four of you will be in the ring in a mixed tag team match, with the Intercontinental Championship on the line."

Zelina had to actively stop her mouth falling open. She was going to wrestle at Wrestlemania! And if that wasn't enough, it was being held in New Jersey, not far at all from where she had been born and raised. It was a dream that she had given up on after being told she was going back to managing, but now here was the confirmation that it was going to come true after all. And on top of all that, she would be competing against Melina of all people.

"A mixed tag team match for the IC title?" Sami asked, sounding confused. "How is that going to work?"

"The stipulation will be if you or Melina win, you keep the belt. If Cesaro or Zelina win, Cesaro is the champion."

"I love it," Melina said. "A tag is a good idea to ease me back into things, too. I've barely wrestled since the injury. I've been training hard, but there will still be a bit of ring rust to work out."

"That's pretty much exactly what Hunter said," Lucy replied.

Zelina took in another important piece of information there. Thorne was the boss now, but apparently she was smart enough to listen to people who probably knew more than her about how to manage certain things. It sounded like Hunter still had an important role to play in WWE, despite the change in chairperson.

"I assume no one has a problem with this idea?" Lucy asked next.

The group all looked around at each other. No one had any objections to raise. "No, we don't," Cesaro answered on behalf of them all. "We've got four good wrestlers here, and by the sound if it, a good storyline to back us up. I think it'll be a good match."

"Alright," Lucy said, showing some genuine satisfaction. "Zelina, come with me. The rest of you can go and get changed."

"See you soon," Melina said, giving a Zelina a 'what is that about?' look that Lucy couldn't see.

Even if the situation had allowed Zelina an opportunity to answer, she had no idea. "Yeah, see you soon," was all she could say.

When Lucy set off along the hallway, with the others heading the opposite way, Zelina fell in step beside the boss. "Everything okay?" she ventured.

"I like the way you handle yourself, Zelina," Lucy said.

"Sorry?"

"Back there, when we were talking about the storyline and the Wrestlemania match. The others were all coming in with questions or comments. You just stood there, kept your mouth shut and listened. I like that."

"Well, thank you," Zelina said, even though she found it a little patronising. "Was there, uh, something else you needed me for?"

"As a matter of fact, yes. I need you and Seth to come to the office Wednesday afternoon. Let's say three pm. I trust I can leave you to tell him?"

"Yeah, of course," Zelina said positively. "Uh, can I ask what it's about?"

Lucy looked down at her and flashed a mysterious smile. "We're going to have a chat about an idea I'm working on. I think you'll like it."

"Okay, great," Zelina smiled, although she was wondering why she and Seth were going to have to spend one of their days off flying from Orlando to New York to have this chat in the office when they were all in the same building right then and there. Still, that was up to the boss. If she wanted to run her business in a strange way and waste their time as a result, it was up to her. They would just have to get on with it. If there was a silver lining, at least Lucy had intimated that the subject of the meeting would be something good.

"I'll have one of my jets in Orlando to get you up to New York, where there will be a car to bring you to the office. I'm sorry I couldn't lay that on for you last time we met, there were some logistical issues at that time."

'A flight on a private jet? Well, why didn't you say so sooner?' Zelina thought, now looking forward to it. This woman, or at least her companies, certainly had some money to throw around. While Zelina wasn't the type of person to get jealous of others, she had to admit she would love to be able to live like that. She realised she had left her response a moment too long.

"Thanks, Lucy," she said, smiling broadly as they stopped in front of the door to the boss's office.

"Don't mention it. Someone from my office will contact you with the details of your flight."

"Alright, I'll go tell Seth about it now," Zelina promised.

Lucy just nodded curtly before disappearing into the office and closing the door.

"See you tomorrow night then," Zelina muttered before setting off for the men's locker room. As she walked, she considered that every time she spoke to the new boss, she was left with a different opinion of her. After their first meeting at the Thorne HQ, she had been left feeling very positive. Lucy had been both friendly and professional on that occasion. Tonight, though, she had just come across as odd. But then, she thought with a shrug, most people who did as well as Thorne in business were probably odd in one way or another. At least with the changes she had implemented to scheduling and such, she had tried to do a good job of putting her employee's wellbeing first. That was a huge deal for everyone on the active roster, and they all appreciated it. Their quality of life was now so much better.

When Zelina reached the men's locker room, she had to go through the awkwardness of knocking on the door and asking for Seth to be sent out, since no one had been standing around outside.

"Hey, muñeca," Seth said as he walked out of the locker room after a moment. "You okay?"

"I'm fine, baby. I hate having to knock on the door like that though."

"I'm sure the guys don't mind," he said deadpan as they walked a short distance away from the locker room door.

"It's not the guys I'm bothered about!" she insisted, playing along with his joke.

Seth smiled. But his next question was serious. "Are you okay though? It's strange for you to come here right after your match. Great job out there, by the way. You really sold well for Melina."

"Thank you," she smiled sweetly. "And I'm fine, apart from a slightly odd encounter with Thorne just now."

"Odd in what way?" he asked with an amused smile.

"I don't know how to describe it. She's just a bit… strange is the only other word I can think of. She got irritable with Cesaro and Sami because they said good match to each other after she had started speaking, and then she was cryptic with me about why she wants to meet with us. That was the news I was coming here with. We've got to go to the office to see her on Wednesday."

Seth's eyebrows raised slightly. "This is the part where I ask what for, but I guess you don't know?"

"Not a clue. But I do know we're going up there in one of her private jets, and there will be a car waiting to take us to the office."

"Traveling in style. Now that I can get on-board with. The only thing I'm wary of is why are we getting the red carpet treatment? And why both of us? I mean, we don't even work together on-screen now. I can't think of anything she could have to speak to us both about."

"Agreed," Zelina said quietly. "I guess we'll find out Wednesday, right?"

"I'm sure we will. Regardless of what she wants, the flight up there will be sweet. Have you been on a private jet before?"

She shook her head. "No. Have you?"

"I've been on the WWE one a couple of times. It was really plush. The only thing it lacked was some good company. That won't be a problem this time."

Zelina smiled broadly. "Why, who else is coming?"

Leaning down, Seth gave her a kiss on the lips. "No one. That's going to be the best thing about it."


	78. Chapter 78

_Monday Night Raw – February 25th 2019_

During Raw's first hour, Renee Young and Corey Graves were doing a piece to the camera, recapping a match from the previous night's Elimination Chamber event, when the shot suddenly changed to show the stage. No entrance music was playing, but a woman was walking out to the ring.

"Wait, Renee, who is that?" Graves asked, cutting across his colleague in full flow. He answered his own question over the top of a gradually increasing number of cheers from the fans, as they in turn figured out who was making an entrance. "That's Melina Perez. Melina Perez is coming out here."

"We saw Melina last night at Elimination Chamber," Renee reminded everyone. "She came through the crowd during the Intercontinental Championship match between Sami Zayn and Cesaro, and she attacked Zelina Vega."

"Call it like it is, Renee," Graves said. "Melina Perez caused a distraction that cost Cesaro the Intercontinental title last night, and you can bet he's not happy about it. And as for Zelina Vega, I'm sure she's livid. She was brutally attacked by someone who shouldn't have even been out there."

"I'm certainly interested to hear what Melina Perez has to say for herself," Renee said as the former Women's Champion fetched a microphone.

Melina raised the microphone to begin speaking, but a chant of "Welcome back!" made her wait for a moment. She stood in the centre of the ring with a hint of a smile on her face at the rousing reception, but everything about her demeanour conveyed anger.

"Quite the reaction for Melina Perez," Graves said. "But she doesn't look happy at all."

"There have been a lot of questions asked about what happened last night at Elimination Chamber," Melina said once the chanting started to die down. "First of all, let's roll the footage from the end of the Intercontinental Championship match between Sami Zayn and Cesaro."

On the big screen in the arena and the TV screens at home, the closing stages of the match were replayed, showing Melina coming out of the crowd and attacking Zelina Vega, leading to the distraction and loss for Cesaro after taking the Helluva Kick from Sami Zayn.

When the footage ended, the shot returned to Melina in the ring. The fans cheered her actions, but the cheers were quickly replaced by boos as Zelina's music hit.

"Woah! Here we go!" Graves called out. "This is going to get very interesting, very quickly."

Zelina didn't waste any time getting to the point. She stood on the stage, glaring down towards the ring and her new adversary. "What we just saw right there," she said as soon as her music faded, "was you, Melina, putting your hands on me. Since you're not employed by WWE, that's assault, and I do intend to press charges. But before I have you arrested and taken away, there something I want to get off my chest."

"Vega plans on having Perez arrested?" Renee asked, finding the idea an overreaction in the extreme.

"Of course. Are you not listening? Zelina was assaulted," Graves said. "You just saw the footage."

"I'm damn sick and tired of how things are run here in WWE," Zelina ranted. "Over on Smackdown, the show was a joke from top to bottom, with no leadership worthy of the description. There was no enforcement of rules from the management. Not only that, there were multiple instances of abuse of power. And now that I'm here on Raw, I find exactly the same things going on here. Just look at last night's Intercontinental Championship match. My client Cesaro lost the match because of Melina Perez attacking me, distracting him. It's ridiculous that people can go around interfering in matches whenever they like, without consequences."

"Oh, please!" Renee said incredulously over some boos from the crowd, who also took offense over the blatant double standards. "As if Vega doesn't break the rules whenever she feels like it. Last night, she attacked Sami Zayn behind the referee's back before Melina even showed up."

"For that reason," Zelina went on, "I am demanding Cesaro gets a rematch for the Intercontinental Championship, and what better place than at the grandest stage of them all, Wrestlemania? What better place for Cesaro to embarrass Sami Zayn? What better place for Cesaro to humiliate Sami Zayn? What better place for Cesaro to beat Sami Zayn?"

"Oh my God, would you shut your mouth?" Melina exploded. The fans cheered their agreement.

"I second that," Renee said. "Vega was starting to give me a headache."

Melina said, "First things first, Vega, let me address that nonsense you were saying about assault charges. I've got news for you: there will be no filing assault charges because I work here."

"What is she talking about?" Graves demanded.

"Last night before Elimination Chamber got started, I was in Shane McMahon's office, and he signed me to a lucrative contract," Melina said with a smile.

Up on the stage, Vega looked somewhere between livid and dumbfounded by the news. The positive reaction of the fans only seemed to make her even more annoyed.

"I see you up there with a 'What the hell does that mean?' look on your face. What it means is Shane McMahon is going to be paying me a lot of money while I have the privilege of kicking your ass."

"This is terrible," Graves said above another loud cheer as Zelina was shown looking worried by what the news she was hearing meant for her future.

Melina turned to face the crowd, involving them in the promo. "You guys think you know the real Zelina Vega, but trust me, you don't. Well, that's all about to change because I'll tell you exactly what kind of woman she is. I've waited a long time to get all of this out into the open. It all started several years ago when a young up and coming woman showed up to train with me. This girl was talented, there was no doubt about it, so I took her under my wing. For months, we trained together. We worked together. For a time, the girl found herself without a place to live. I let her sleep on the couch in my apartment. That's how close we were. We became best friends. Or at least, I thought we became best friends."

On the stage, Zelina looked like she was shaking in anger at what was being said. It was more than obvious that the girl in question was her.

"Melina is clearly talking about Vega, Corey," Renee said for the benefit of any viewers who were especially slow on the uptake.

"But then," Melina said, "I saw my so-called friend's true colours. I was offered the chance to make a return to WWE, by signing up to join NXT. It was an offer I intended to accept. Indeed, I called Triple H to accept it. To my astonishment and horror, Hunter was confused by my call. He told me he didn't understand why I was calling, since I had already emailed him to say that I wanted to thank him for the opportunity, but I had to turn it down. Instead, I had recommended my student to him, who he had proceeded to offer a trial to."

"Wait, is she saying..." Renee let the question hang in the air, unfinished.

"That's right," Melina snarled, rounding to look at Zelina up on the stage. "My supposed best friend saw the email from WWE and decided to reply to it. Posing as me, she sent Triple H a recommendation for herself. Basically what I'm saying is, she stabbed me in the back and took my opportunity for herself. That woman was you, Zelina!"

The fans booed Vega loudly for her dastardly act.

"If you've got a back, Vega's got a knife to stick in it," Renee said.

"Go on, admit it!" Melina screamed at her former friend, now bitter enemy. "Admit what you did, you traitorous, backstabbing little bitch!"

The fans sounded their agreement with the insult.

"Oh, man, this is getting very personal here," Graves said.

The insult pushed Zelina's temper over the edge. "I admit it!" she thundered back. "I admit I stabbed you in the back and took your opportunity for myself! You know why? Because I deserved it more than you did!"

Loud boos rained down, then a chant began to break out. It was a unique one, at least for a woman. "Asshole!" was barely audible at first, but, secretly loving it, Zelina stopped and glared in the direction it was coming from. Of course, that guaranteed that the chant caught on, and soon almost everyone was shouting it at her.

Inside, Zelina was overjoyed. The incredible heat that she gotten for herself back in the days of The Vega Cartel was starting to come back. Although it wasn't PG, she hoped the asshole chant would stick over the coming weeks. Her character, of course, had a different opinion entirely.

"Shut your mouths, you bunch of inbred idiots!" she shouted angrily, predictably inciting more boos. She directed her attention back to Melina. "I admit I screwed you out of your opportunity, Melina. I screwed you once, and I'd do it again."

"I can't pretend I'm surprised," Renee said over the latest boos.

"That's the difference between me and you," Zelina continued. "I have the ruthlessness it takes to succeed in this business, whereas you, on the other hand, as soon as you have a disagreement with management, you run away and hide for eight years."

The crowd gave an "Ooooh!" in recognition of that cutting insult.

It was the final straw for Melina. "You want to talk about ruthlessness?" she raged. "Get your ass down here and get in the ring, I'll show you some ruthlessness!"

"You want me to get in the ring?" Zelina asked in a threatening manner, starting to walk down the ramp. "You really want me to get in there with you?"

The fans began to chant "Yes!" However, Zelina had other ideas. She stopped halfway down the ramp and defiantly said, "No."

"Again, I can't say I'm surprised," Renee said as yet more boos rained down.

"I'm not going to get in the ring with you, Melina. I have nothing to prove to you. You know I'd kick your ass, I know I'd kick your ass. Even these ridiculous low lives know I'd kick your ass."

At the very moment she finished her sentence, Shane McMahon's music hit, to a loud cheer. Zelina whipped around to face the stage, immediately concerned by what the boss might have in store for her.

"Here comes Shane McMahon now," Graves said. "Raw's commissioner is out here, and I don't like the way he's looking at Zelina Vega. This could be bad."

"Zelina, you certainly talk a good game," Shane said from the stage. "I was standing there in the back listening to you shouting your mouth off, insulting the fans and insulting Melina. But in between the insults, you did say a couple of things that I found interesting. First off, you demanded an Intercontinental Champion rematch for Cesaro against Sami Zayn. The problem I have with that is, quite simply, Cesaro had a one on one match against Sami Zayn last night at Elimination Chamber, and he lost."

"Because of her," Zelina raged, pointing down towards the ring. "Don't stand there telling me Cesaro lost! I was attacked, and it distracted Cesaro. The outcome of that match was a travesty and you know it. A competent commissioner would never have allowed that result to stand!"

Shane shook his head, looking like he was finding it hard to decide if Zelina was actually serious in what she was saying. "Do you honestly think I didn't see the match?" he asked her. "I saw you hit Sami Zayn with that hurracanrana into the steps, so don't even try talking to me about outside interference. But, as everyone knows, I am a man who likes to give people opportunities. I have an opportunity for you, Zelina. I'm prepared to grant Cesaro another shot at the Intercontinental Championship. All you have to do is agree to face Melina Perez in a match."

"Now the ball is in Vega's court," Renee said approvingly.

Placed under the gun, Zelina looked extremely angry. "And if I refuse?" she asked icily.

"Then the only title Cesaro is going to have is being the first Zelina Vega guy to never win a championship. I'm not sure that would look good for either of you."

Looking ready to explode, Zelina made the only real decision available to her. "Alright, I'll face Melina in a match. But not tonight. I'm not prepared, and in any case, I wouldn't lower myself to wrestling in a dump like this."

"Oh, it's not going to be tonight," Shane promised her over the top of some more boos and abuse directed her way. "I heard you mention Wrestlemania earlier, and that gave me the perfect idea. You see, it seems to me that we have Melina Perez wanting to kick Zelina Vega's ass, and I know for a fact that after everything that's happened, Sami Zayn isn't close to being done with Cesaro. So, what we're going to do is have all four of those people in the ring at Wrestlemania, in a mixed tag team match."

There was a fairly lacklustre cheer for the announcement. Some of the fans were not convinced by the prospect.

"Cesaro and Vega against Zayn and Perez at Wrestlemania?" Renee exclaimed, hyping it up. "Oh yes, I like the sound of that!"

"You just promised Cesaro a shot at the Intercontinental Championship, McMahon," Zelina spat.

"And he's going to get it, because the Intercontinental title will be on the line in the mixed tag team match. Zelina, if your team wins the match, Cesaro will be the champion. But if Melina and Sami Zayn win, Sami will retain the championship, and Cesaro will not get another shot at it."

"Fine," Zelina said haughtily, still standing halfway down the ramp, glaring up at him. "All I can say to that is, when it's all said and done, Cesaro and I will walk out of Wrestlemania victorious, and my client will be the Intercontinental Champion."

The outbreak of cheering from the fans should have alerted Zelina to danger. Behind her, Melina had rushed out of the ring. She came running up the ramp and clotheslined Vega in the back of the head, knocking her down.

"Melina's not waiting for Wrestlemania!" Renee cried, calling the action. "Look at those stiff right hands, right to Vega's face!"

"Perez is out of control!" Graves protested. "And look at Shane McMahon, he's just walking away, not doing anything about it!"

"Vega should have thought about that before she came out here running her mouth, Corey. Sometimes you have to be able to back up what you say."

"Zelina can back it up! She was just attacked from behind, in case you missed it!"

"Look at this!" Renee called, ignoring him.

Perez had dragged Vega to her feet, crouched over in pain. It was the perfect positon for Melina's finishing move. When she hit it, the sunset flip powerbomb slammed Zelina onto the steel entrance ramp with a loud crash and a cheer of delight from the crowd.

"Perez hit the Last Call," Renee said. "Will it be the last call for Cesaro at Wrestlemania as far as the Intercontinental title is concerned?"

Melina picked up the microphone that Zelina had been using. "Vega, you talk about walking out of Wrestlemania with the Intercontinental Championship," she growled at the unconscious woman. "If I've got anything to say about it, you won't be walking out at all."

"We'll see about that," Graves said as Melina dropped the microphone and stormed off towards the back. For the first time since her return, her theme music played. "At Wrestlemania, Melina won't be able to pull one of those sneak attacks. She's going to have to face Zelina one on one across the ring."

"I'm sure she can't wait, Corey," Renee said. "I know I certainly can't. Zelina Vega is going to have to lead by example, because if she loses, Cesaro's chances of ever becoming Intercontinental Champion go down with her."


	79. Chapter 79

"Oh, yes. I'm going to enjoy this," Zelina said excitedly.

She and Seth were about to board the private jet belonging to Thorne Enterprises for their trip to New York to meet with WWE's new chairwoman. They were still in the dark as to what the meeting was about, but one thing they had both agreed on ahead of time was that they were going to make the most of the hospitality that had been extended to them.

"It's a great looking plane," Seth commented. "It looks a bit bigger than the WWE one to me, not that I'm any kind of expert."

Zelina was certainly no expert on planes either. All she knew was that the one in front of her looked impressive as hell. It was painted all black, absolutely gleaming like it was on its first day in service. There was an engine either side of the plane's body, fixed directly to the body near the back, rather than under the wings. The engines were already running on idle, warmed up and ready for their departure. On the tail was the Thorne Enterprises logo – a T with a dark red thorn forming the stem, holding up a white cross member. Under the logo, T5 was written in white lettering.

"T5? I wonder what that means?" she asked.

"My guess?" Seth said. "It means Thorne has at least four more of these things. Sickening, isn't it, the money some people have?"

"I've always said you can't begrudge people having money if they've earned it. I don't know which side of that one Lucy falls, though. I don't know enough about her."

A stewardess appeared in the aircraft's open doorway and beckoned for them to climb the steps. She looked to be in her early thirties, very attractive, with medium length blonde hair in a ponytail. When she spoke, Zelina heard the most stereotypical, posh English accent she had ever heard anywhere other than on TV.

"Good morning. Come on board," the stewardess called to them cheerfully.

"After you," Seth said to Zelina, gesturing to the steps.

"Thank you," she said, giving him one of her best smiles. With that, she climbed the steps and greeted the stewardess. "Hi, I'm Zelina."

"Nice to meet you, Zelina. My name is Camilla, I'll be your stewardess today. Anything I can get for you or assist you with, please ask."

"Thank you," Zelina said pleasantly, moving into the plane.

As Seth exchanged greetings with Camilla, Zelina took her first look around. She had seen what the interiors of private jet looked like on TV, but now that she was actually in one, it took her breath away. There was a seating area closest to the door, with four of most luxurious leather seats she had ever set eyes on. Behind that was a table that could sit four people, on four more identical chairs. To the left of the table, on the other side of the narrow aisle, there was room for two people to sleep. Thankfully, that wasn't going to be necessary.

"Please, take a seat wherever you would like and fasten your seatbelts," Camilla said. "We'll be rolling shortly. Once we're in the air, I have a bottle of champagne to serve, compliments of Ms Thorne."

"Now that does sound nice," Seth said.

It sure does, Zelina thought. But again, she wondered what the reason was behind all of the red carpet treatment. It was humbling, but it also made her wary. Were they being softened up for a blow of some kind? She certainly hoped not, even though she couldn't imagine what kind of blow it might be, if one was to come.

"Where do you want to sit?" Seth asked her.

"I think right here would be good," Zelina decided, taking the closest seat, facing towards the front of the plane.

"Then I'll go here," Seth said, taking the seat opposite her.

Without being obvious about it, Camilla kept an eye on them to make sure they fastened their seat belts. Within moments, the door was closed and the plane started its taxi run.

"We'll be taking off shortly," Camilla told them before heading to her seat at the back of the plane.

"I might ask her for her opinion on Thorne," Seth said quietly once Camilla was out of earshot.

Zelina giggled. "Be careful. You never know what might get back to her. The whole thing might be a setup to see what we say."

"Some elaborate setup," Seth chuckled. "But I am going to ask her. I don't see any harm in that. I mean, what's the worst that could happen? She could go back to Lucy and say, 'Seth asked me for my opinion on you.' I don't think that's the biggest offense in the world."

"Okay, knock yourself out. I'll just sit here drinking my champagne and acting innocent."

Seth laughed again. "Oh, thanks. I see how it is now."

Zelina gave him another of her biggest smiles before turning to look out of the window. She saw that the plane was just turning onto the end of the runway. "Oh, here we go," she said, her voice containing the nervousness she always felt before take-off on a flight.

"Relax, muñeca," he said soothingly. "The take-off run is really short on these things. We'll be in the air before you know it."

"I didn't know you have an interest in planes," she said, raising her eyebrows a little.

"I don't. It's just a question of power to weight ratios. This thing weighs nothing compared to a regular commercial jet." The sound of the engines increased as he was speaking. They were rolling. "Watch how quick we get off the ground," he added.

"I'd rather not," she replied, deliberately avoiding looking out of the window. Even so, she soon felt the strange sensation in her stomach as the plane first lifted off. Seth had been right, they had gone far down the runway at all.

"Piece of cake," Seth said, totally relaxed.

Even so, Zelina didn't fully relax until she felt the pilot levelling the plane out of its steep climb a couple of minutes later. "That's when I know it's safe," she said, unfastening her seat belt.

Momentarily, Camilla approached them, a professional smile on her face. "Is there anything I can get for you? Coffee, tea, or I can serve the complimentary champagne if you would like?"

"Yeah, the champagne, please," Seth said.

"And for me, please," Zelina added.

"I also have a selection of snacks, or I can prepare a light lunch," Camilla offered.

"No, thank you," Zelina said. "We ate before coming to the airport." She wished they hadn't now, since she imagined the food served on a Thorne Enterprises jet was probably a lot nicer than the garbage you got from a commercial carrier. But then, it probably wouldn't have been vegan anyway.

"I'm fine for food, thanks," Seth said.

"Champagne coming up," Camilla said with another smile, heading for the back of the plane once more.

"I could get used to traveling like this," Zelina said.

"Who couldn't?" he agreed, stretching his legs with a contended smile on his face. "I'll tell Thorne she can invite us up to the office whenever she wants, if this is how we're going to get there."

"I'm not sure it was an invite," she pointed out. "She might be laying on this hospitality, but it was an instruction to come, not an invite."

"Hmmm," Seth said thoughtfully. "It's all very mysterious, isn't it? Hey, did she even say which office we're going to?"

Zelina didn't grasp the meaning behind the question. "Huh?"

"Well, last time, she had you go to the Thorne building, didn't she? But now she's taken over WWE, maybe we'll be going to the office there?"

"That's a good point. I actually have no idea. She didn't say which office she was talking about, she just said the office. I just assumed it would be the Thorne one again, but it might not be. I guess we'll just have to see where the car takes us."

"My bet is we'll go to Stamford. I remember her saying in that first speech she gave us the other month that most of her time would be put into WWE once she took over, so it makes sense for her to be working out of their offices."

Zelina was about to agree, but Camilla returned with two glasses of champagne, handing one to Zelina first, then to Seth.

"Thank you," he said when he took it. "Hey, Camilla, can I ask you a question?"

"Of course."

"What can you tell us about Lucy Thorne? We've not had much of a chance to form an opinion. As I'm sure you know, she only recently took over the company we work for."

A humorous smile appeared on Camilla's face. "Do I sense a trapdoor opening behind me?"

Seth and Zelina both laughed. "Not at all," he promised. "We're not going to mention this to her. We just want to know a bit more about her. You must have more of an idea of what she's like than we do."

Zelina tried the champagne while Camilla considered how to answer. Predictably, it tasted amazing. It was obviously very expensive stuff.

"One thing I will say is Ms Thorne misses nothing," the stewardess said cautiously. "She's notorious among her staff for it. Nothing goes on in any of her companies that she doesn't know about. But personally, I've found her to be very personable and polite most of the time. Overall, I would say she's a good boss to have. I'm sure you were hoping for some juicier gossip than that, but I don't really get to talk to her much. She almost never flies alone, at least not when I've been on her flight. She's usually with other people, businessmen and stuff, or her husband."

"What's he like?" Zelina asked, enjoying the gossip, juicy or not.

"He's a nice guy, too. They're obviously very much in love. But I shouldn't be talking about their marriage, that's really not appropriate."

"Alright, thanks, Camilla," Zelina said, realising that they were making her feel awkward, and not really learning much in the process.

"Just let me know if there's anything else I can get you," Camilla smiled before leaving them to it.

"We didn't get much info there, did we?" Zelina said quietly to Seth.

"I don't know about that. We learned that Lucy treats her staff well. You know what they say about going on a date to a restaurant and watching how the other person treats the staff. It gives you an insight into their character. And we already know about the changes she made to our schedules and things, to make sure we were healthier and happier, as she put it. She didn't have to do that. I think her heart is in the right place. But at the same time, no one gets to where she is in life without having some ruthlessness. I think as long as we don't get on the wrong side of her, we'll be fine."

"Fair enough," Zelina conceded. "I'll feel a lot better about it once we know what we're being summoned for, that's all I can say."

Seth took a healthy hit from his glass of champagne. "What will be will be. For now, let's enjoy ourselves. What's the worst that could happen?"

"Seth!" Zelina shrieked, aiming a kick at one of his legs. "Don't say things like that!"

* * *

The meeting with Lucy Thorne was set for three pm. Half an hour before that, Seth and Zelina had arrived at WWE headquarters, which answered the first of the questions on their minds. They were directed up to the top floor by one of the receptionists, and told that Lucy's assistant would meet them at the elevator.

"I bet she's got Vince's old office," Seth said while they rode the elevator.

"Probably," Zelina agreed. "That's got to be weird for Stephanie and Hunter. I'd love to be able to sit down and talk to them about how the company ended up getting sold to someone outside of the family instead of given to them."

"Me too, but it's not our place to do that. We might never know the answer to that, sadly."

The elevator reached the top floor and the doors slid open. Zelina immediately recognised the man who was waiting for them as the same guy from Lucy Thorne's office in the Thorne Enterprises building. Zelina assumed that meant he was her personal assistant.

"Good afternoon," the assistant said with a smile. "Nice to see you again," he added to Zelina, surprising her. She hadn't expected to be remembered. She heard a loud drilling sound coming from somewhere on their floor. Her guess was that some renovation work was being done.

"You too," she replied, feeling slightly on the back foot.

"Afternoon," Seth added.

"If you'll follow me," the assistant said, starting to lead them along the hallway past some offices. "You'll be in the boardroom today. There is some work being done on Ms Thorne's office."

By the time he had finished the brief explanation, they had reached the door to the boardroom. The assistant opened it for them to walk in. "Take a seat. Ms Thorne will join you shortly," he said. "Can I get you anything to drink while you wait?"

"I'm fine, thank you," Zelina said, noticing that glasses of water had already been set out in front of the two chairs they were intended to use. In any case, she didn't want to repeat the performance from the last time she had asked for herbal tea.

"Coffee, please," Seth said. "No cream, no sugar."

"Coming up."

"I've never been in here before," Seth said to Zelina as they took their seats at the long table.

"Safe to say I haven't." She settled into the comfortable leather-clad office chair and looked around. On the walls, there were some framed pieces of memorabilia to commemorate some of the company's finest moments. Behind the head of the table, there was a flat screen TV fixed to the wall, currently displaying the new WWE logo.

"Kind of weird that she invited us to come here on a day when she's having her office worked on," Seth commented.

"I don't know. Nothing wrong with having us in here I guess," Zelina said. "I'll make you a bet, though. She won't come in before three. I remember when I met her last time, she didn't meet me until the time I was supposed to see her."

And so it proved to be. It was actually a couple of minutes after three pm when the boardroom door opened and Lucy Thorne breezed into the room, wearing one of her usual expensive business suits and carrying some documents.

"Good afternoon," Lucy said warmly after closing the door. As the greeting was returned in kind by her two guests, she walked around the table and took the seat opposite Seth. After sitting down, she took a moment to neatly arrange the documents before looking up at them.

"Nice flight up here?" was the first question when they received her attention.

"Yes, thank you for arranging it for us," Seth said with a smile.

"And thanks for the champagne," Zelina added.

Lucy smiled. "You're welcome."

Some more pleasantries were exchanged. Zelina found it noticeable that, as with the previous meeting, Lucy seemed to be happy and in her element. While they talked, Zelina realised she had figured something out about the boss. She was in her natural environment talking business in offices or boardrooms. Being at an arena surrounded by wrestlers was new to her and maybe made her feel out of her comfort zone. That could explain why she had seemed tetchy and odd backstage at Elimination Chamber.

"Needless to say, you're wondering why I had you come up here today," Lucy said, getting down to business.

"We've been trying to guess, but not really coming up with much," Zelina said.

Lucy gave a single laugh. "Then allow me to explain. As you know, one of the arms of WWE is WWE Studios. One of my first decisions after taking charge was to put an end to the production of the straight to DVD garbage they've been churning out. It's a waste of time and money to produce that kind of content. What I want is a better product, so I'm investing more money into it. We're going to see better quality movies, with better script writing, production values and better actors. We're also going to start producing new series of our own for the WWE Network. And that's where you come in."

Oh shit, Zelina thought, her eyes widening in delighted surprise. They were going to star in a WWE Network TV series!

"It's not Total Divas, is it?" Seth asked deadpan.

Lucy laughed. "I said a new series. And no, it's nothing like Total Divas. You see, we're moving the Network away from showing PG only content. The series we're here to talk about will be mature adult rated."

"Really?" Zelina asked, even more surprised. "What is the concept for it?"

"Before we get into that, let's talk about why I chose the two of you for the starring roles. First off, you, Zelina. Unlike most of the people we employ, you have genuine acting experience outside of WWE. I've watched some of those horror movies you've been in, and I liked what I saw. One of the reasons I assigned you to be a manager is because I think you're an excellent actress. That's why you're going to play one of the main characters in the show."

"Thank you so much for the kind words," Zelina said genuinely. "I love acting, so I'm definitely up for whatever it is you have in mind."

"Excellent," Lucy said, before focusing on Seth. "And you, Seth, I chose because I couldn't think of a better option to star alongside Zelina than you. You're also very good at what you do, and for obvious reasons, you'll have on-screen chemistry with her."

"Sounds got to me," Seth said. "But what is the show? What's it about?"

"It's a crime drama," Lucy revealed. "It's called The Insider. Here, take a look at this mockup I had made." She shuffled through the documents she had brought into the room and found a glossy image, which she slid across the table towards them.

Zelina loved it immediately. It showed her and Seth's faces, both with mean expressions, with the title of the show above it and the WWE logo at the bottom.

"Nice," Seth opined. "So, The Insider? Sounds like it's about some kind of crime organization being infiltrated?"

"Exactly that," Lucy said with a nod. "Let me give you both some more info on the plot. Zelina, your character is called Thea Trinidad. She has recently become the head of what was her father's drug manufacturing and distribution empire, following his death. As you can imagine, the main man dying and being replaced by his young, inexperienced daughter is seen as an opportunity to take down the Trinidad organisation by rivals and law enforcement alike."

"I'm loving this already," Zelina said excitedly. "This is exactly the kind of show I love watching, so to star in one? Absolutely count me in."

"Seth," Lucy said. "Your character is undercover FBI agent Colby Lopez, who has been assigned to work his way into the organisation, gain their trust, and work as an inside man."

"Hence the title of the show," Seth said with a smile. "It sounds good to me. I mean, I'm guessing that for some reason my character manages to gain the trust of Zel's character fairly early on, and is soon getting intel right from the top, with all of the dangers that brings."

"I couldn't have put it better myself," Lucy said with a warm smile. Zelina noted that they were making a good impression with the boss with their enthusiasm. "I'm sure you won't be surprised to learn that in time, Colby and Thea end up sexually involved with each other, and that leaves Colby with the ultimate test of where his loyalties lie."

"It's not the most original concept, but that doesn't mean we can't make something really good out of it," Seth said, making sure to use a positive tone. "Definitely count me in as well. When do we start filming?"

"Probably towards the end of the summer. The show is still being written and we're casting for the other roles. Obviously we'll get more information to you when we have it. But I wanted to have you come up, pitch the idea to you and get you both confirmed."

They moved on to talk about further details of the show, with Lucy really warming to conversation, clearly liking their open and interested manner. When that topic of conversation was exhausted, Lucy didn't dismiss them. Instead, she had further questions.

"How do you think things are going since the takeover? Have you found the changes to be positive? Negative? Speak freely."

"I'd say positive," Zelina replied. "I know everyone appreciates the schedule changes you made. Apart from that, the fans seem energised by what you're doing. We seem to be getting more attendance in the arena. I'm sure you have figures on that. It also seems like the atmosphere's are livelier most weeks, which is obviously good."

Lucy looked delighted by that. "Attendances are up," she was pleased to confirm. "And I'm glad to hear that you guys on the roster are happy. I've been told by several people that morale is really high, and that's what I want."

"I think it's because everyone sees how serious you are about improving the product, from the guys in the locker room to the armchair fans who never even buy a ticket. I'd imagine network subscriptions are up?"

"Starting to trend that way, yeah," Lucy said.

Zelina thought back to a big announcement that had been made the previous week. Expectations had been high that England might at last get a Wrestlemania, with WWE now having an English chairwoman. But the announcement that had arrived had actually confirmed that WWE's centrepiece would remain in America for the time being, with Wrestlemania 36 being awarded to Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara – the place where Seth had made his legendary Money in the Bank cash-in to capture his first WWE Championship. For that reason, he was particularly excited to go back there.

But that hadn't been all. WWE had announced that an annual pay-per-view would now take place in England, at London's Wembley Stadium. Given the name WWE British Invasion, it had been described as a four hour extravaganza, joining the ranks of the company's existing top four events as one of the most important of the year. British Invasion had been given the Money in the Bank ladder matches – seeing the abolition of the previous pay-per-view named after those matches.

"British Invasion is something a lot of people are looking forward to," Zelina said.

"Not least myself," Lucy said with a grin. "I'm overjoyed to be able to put on such a huge and important show in my country. It means a lot to me."

"I'm sure it will be everything you're hoping for," Seth said. Zelina could tell that he appreciated the boss's down to earth manner during the meeting, as she did.

"I'm sure it will," Lucy agreed cheerfully. "I've got another announcement coming today, actually. In fact it might have gone out while we've been in here."

"Oh?" Seth asked, while Zelina looked on eagerly.

"I've done a deal with Dana White and UFC, signing Bruce Buffer to ring announce on Raw and pay-per-views. I think Vince McMahon must have been attacked by a good ring announcer when he was a child or something, since he refused to employ one."

Seth roared with laughter, while Zelina sniggered. It was exactly the kind of joke he loved.

"That's cool, but what about JoJo?" Zelina asked.

"She's moving to Smackdown. Hamilton is going back to NXT, and Kayla Braxton is moving to do backstage work. Interviews and stuff, I mean."

Thorne wasn't afraid to shake things up, that was for sure. Zelina had to admire that, even if she wasn't overjoyed by two women she liked being shuffled around like pieces on a chess board.

Lucy looked at her watch. "We'd better wrap this up. We've overrun quite a bit."

"Time flies when you're enjoying yourself," Seth chirped, intending it as something of a joke.

However, Lucy appeared to take it at face value. "Right," she agreed simply, rising from her chair and offering her hand, first to Seth, then Zelina. "Seth, Zelina, thanks for coming. I'm delighted to have you on-board for The Insider."

"Thanks for offering it to us," Zelina said with a broad smile.

"Yeah, thanks," Seth added. "Can't wait to get started."

With that, they were dismissed from what had been a very positive and productive meeting indeed.


	80. Chapter 80

Wrestlemania 35 was underway at the sold out MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. Zelina could remember going there many times in her younger years, and now here she was backstage, soon to be performing in front of more than eighty thousand people, and millions more watching at home.

"Some occasion for my first match since November," she commented to Sonya, Becky and Bayley, who had all already competed in the women's battle royal, which had been the opening match on the main card. To Zelina's immense delight, Sonya had been given the win. She hoped it was the start of what she considered to be a long overdue push for her friend.

Across the locker room, Melina was making the final touches to her ring attire, putting a knee pad on over her pants. If Zelina was nervous about her first match in five months, she couldn't imagine how her opponent and close friend felt. She was about to go into one of her first matches since her very serious knee injury, and her first for WWE in almost eight years. It had to be a scary prospect.

"You'll never forget your first Wrestlemania entrance, Zel," Bayley said. "I remember mine in Orlando. Walking out there in front of all those people as the Raw Women's Champion, it took my breath away."

"And it's in your backyard," Becky added. "It must be so special for you. I can't even imagine how I'd have felt out there if we were in Ireland."

"It is so special, Becks. Honestly, though, they're not going to cheer me, no matter where I'm from. If they did, part of me would be mad about it. I want them to be pulling for Mel, not me."

"I get that," Bayley said. "But when Bruce Buffer gives it that, 'From Queen's, New York!' you can't tell me they're not going to pop for it."

The group had a good laugh at Bayley's rather accurate impression of WWE's new ring announcer.

"Hopefully they'll just cheer that part then," Zelina conceded. "Mel and I already said the main thing we want to accomplish tonight as far as our involvement is concerned is to get her more over as a face and get more heat on me."

"I'm sure you'll be able to that," Sonya said confidently.

Zelina smiled. "Thanks."

"I guess it's time," Melina said, walking over to them.

"I guess it is," Zelina agreed. "Let's go do this."

Most of the women in the locker room wished them good luck on the way to the door. The last one to speak was Ronda, another of Zelina's friends. As they walked past, Zelina stopped to talk to her.

"I'm so glad they're letting you wrestle again, Zel. You're too good to stand ringside all the time."

"Thanks, Ronda," Zelina said, accepting a brief hug. "I told myself when Thorne took over to keep my head down and do what they ask. Let's see where it takes me."

Ronda gestured to her Women's Championship belt, which was sitting on the bench next to her locker. "If they have any sense, you'll get a run at that."

"You never know," Zelina chuckled. "I'd better move."

"Alright. Kill it, girl."

Zelina walked out into the hallway side by side with Melina, feeling happy for Ronda, and for Charlotte Flair. They were going to be in the first ever women's Wrestlemania main event. What an awe inspiring thing that was. She had every confidence that the two ladies would justify the honour they had been given. Charlotte's entrance alone promised to be something for the ages, with a full orchestra playing a live version of what had once been Ric Flair's music, and now belonged to his daughter.

Now wasn't the time to think about the main event, though. It was time to get her mind focused on her own match, which was only minutes away.

* * *

_Wrestlemania 35 – April 7th 2019_

After the video promo package for the match, Bruce Buffer was shown in the ring, ready to explain the stipulations one more time, even though they had just been covered in the promo.

"The followed contest, scheduled for one fall, is a mixed tag team match, and it is for the WWE Intercontinental Championship! If the challenging team wins, Cesaro will be the Intercontinental Champion. If the defending team win, Sami Zayn will retain the championship!"

Zelina's music was first to play, drawing some boos from the enormous crowd. Walking out onto the stage, she tried to take it all in without being obvious about the fact that she was awestruck to be performing in front of so many people. She had appeared in front of a similar crowd at Wrestlemania 34, but only as a manager. Now all eyes were on her, and that was a very different proposition indeed.

"This is rather a unique match, Renee," Corey Graves was saying on commentary. "It's entirely possible that Sami Zayn could lose his Intercontinental Championship as a result of Melina Perez being pinned or submitted by this woman, Zelina Vega."

"Yes it is," Renee agreed. "And Vega shouldn't be underestimated. Most people don't like the way she conducts her business, but the fact is she is a former Women's Champion. And I know first hand, she takes no prisoners when she steps in the ring."

"The pressure is on Zelina tonight," Graves continued. "Since her return to management, taking on Cesaro as a client, he is yet to win a match. Questions have started to be asked about her leadership."

"Personally, I wouldn't read much into that," Renee had to admit. "Zelina and Cesaro won't care how many matches he's lost before tonight if they pull out a victory here. But if they don't, that's when they have a big problem because Shane McMahon stated that if Cesaro doesn't leave Wrestlemania with the Intercontinental title, he won't get another shot at it."

Zelina had finished her long walk down the lengthy entrance ramp. As she stepped through the ropes into the ring, Buffer announced her.

"Introducing first, the challenging team. From Queens, New York, Zelina Vega!"

As anticipated, the mention of New York got a pop from the crowd. Luckily, Bruce's style of announcing meant that it took him a while to emphasise both her first and second names, allowing the fans to boo her. She played up to it by copying Cesaro's trademark pose.

Then it was her client's turn to enter. Zelina paced around the ring while he came down the ramp, happy to hear him also drawing some heat. She could imagine the commentary team talking about his change in attitude since becoming her client.

When Cesaro got in the ring, she made sure to play her part by walking over and shouting at him, hyping him up for the battle to come.

After he was announced, it was time for Melina's entrance. The cheer that her friend's music got made Zelina feel emotional, not that she could let on in any way. She had never imagined that they would get to share a ring again, let alone at Wrestlemania. Yet here it was, about to happen.

"Give them the ring," Cesaro suggested to her.

It was a good idea, so she followed him through the ropes and dropped to the floor in front of the commentary tables. She was able to hear Renee talking about Melina being a former Women's and Divas Champion.

Melina went through her famous entrance to the ring, doing the splits on the apron. The fans cheered again as she got in the ring, before Buffer announced her.

"And their opponents, the defending team. First, from Los Angeles, California, Melina Perez!"

A loud cheer of approval came from the fans, tugging at Zelina's heartstrings again. She didn't know how many matches Melina had left in her, but this one really was going to be something special.

A couple of minutes later, Sami Zayn had completed his entrance, with seemingly everyone in the stadium singing along to his music. Once he had been announced, it was time to begin.

"Zayn and Perez trying to decide who's going to start the match," Renee said. "A reminder that under mixed tag team match rules, if a tag is made, the corresponding member of the opposite team must also enter the ring."

The decision about who would begin the match for the defending team was taken away from them. Zelina came sprinting across the ring and slammed a forearm into the back of Melina's head.

"Oh! Vega from behind, and we're underway!" Renee called as the bell was sounded.

For the first couple of minutes, Zelina had the upper hand, having her way with her opponent and rubbing it in the faces of the fans in the process, drawing some more heat for herself.

Perez was eventually able to reverse an Irish whip and hit Vega with a back body drop. As soon as she took the impact, Zelina bounced right back to her knees and scurried for her corner, tagging Cesaro as quickly as possible.

"Typical Vega," Renee commented. "As soon the odds aren't stacked in her favour, she runs."

"That's called being smart, Renee," Graves said derisively.

Cesaro entered the ring, as did Zayn, who was now automatically the legal person for his team. As the two men started to go at it, Zelina rolled out of the ring and walked over to the commentary table.

"What are you doing over here?" Renee asked her.

There was no third headset at the table, so Zelina snatched Renee's off her head. "Move your ass, Young," she ordered after putting the headset on.

Renee reluctantly got up and moved aside, allowing Zelina to sit down.

"Not that it's not great to have you join me, but what are you doing over here?" Graves asked as the coverage showed the two male competitors exchanging right hands. "You're in the middle of a match."

"Cesaro's got this covered," Zelina said casually. "Look at him taking it to Sami Zayn on the other side of the ring."

"If you hadn't moved Renee out of the way, I know what she would be saying. She'd be asking why you're sitting here instead of standing on the apron. Are you worried about facing Melina?"

Zelina was shown turning to glare at Graves. "Renee is an idiot. And so is anyone else who thinks I'm afraid to face Melina Perez. I'm just sitting here to enjoy watching my client win the Intercontinental Championship."

For the next few minutes, Cesaro and Zayn carried the matched, impressing the crowd with some high octane offense and several near falls. The whole time, Zelina sat there on commentary, bad mouthing both members of the opposition team.

Out of character, Zelina hoped that she wasn't going to get any grief from Hunter or Lucy for what she was doing. She was supposed to be up on the apron waiting for her next involvement, but had decided to improvise, remembering how much the fans had reacted to her frequent trips to the commentary table during her previous heel run. Kicking the play by play commentator off the air during Wrestlemania might attract some flack though, she knew. She had to give both of the commentators credit for going along with it so fluidly.

Playing along with what Zelina was doing, while Sami Zayn had the upper hand, Melina walked along the apron to the corner closest to the commentary tables. "You can't sit there forever!" she shouted at her opponent. "Wait till I tag in! Your ass is mine!"

"Sounds like Melina can't wait to get her hands on you," Graves noted.

"Melina needs to worry about her little friend Sami Zayn losing his title to Cesaro," Zelina snapped. "Shane McMahon decided to make this stupid mixed tag team match. I told him I wanted a rematch for Cesaro against Zayn, so that's what we've got."

The men continued to battle for a few more minutes. More than once, Cesaro looked to make it to his corner to tag, but Zelina wasn't there for him.

Renee, having been left with nothing to do other than stand near the timekeeper, came back over and pointed to the vacant corner. "Why don't you get back up there, where you're supposed to be?"

"Why don't you get out of my face?" Zelina hissed, getting up. She was keeping an eye on the ring because Renee's timing wasn't great. There was a spot coming up.

Exhausted, Zayn was crawling across the ring to his corner, needing to tag out.

Zelina ripped her headset off and threw it at Renee. "Here. I've got to go." With that, she ran around the ring and pulled Melina off the apron, sending her crashing face first into it just before Sami could make the tag.

"Look at Vega laughing," Renee said icily. "She's really pleased with herself. Why can't she just have the courage to get in the ring and wrestle Melina?"

Cesaro now had a decisive advantage. He hit a string of moves, with Zelina cheering him on from ringside, still not in the corner.

Seemingly out of nowhere, Sami hit a Blue Thunder Bomb for a very near fall.

"Oh, I thought that was it, but Cesaro just got the shoulder up!" Renee cried. "Sami Zayn is undefeated for seven months, and it's thanks to moves like that."

"Get up! Get up!" Zelina screamed at her client from outside the ring.

Unconventionally, when Zayn saw his opponent crawling towards the corner, desperately needing a tag, he decided to help him out. Sami walked over to his own corner and slapped hands with Melina, drawing one of the loudest cheers of the match so far. The fans had figured out what Vega's cowardly game had been, and were delighted that she was now forced to enter the match.

"Look at Vega's face," Renee said, not hiding a sense of glee at the very apprehensive expression that was shown on the screen.

With both men down, worn out by their long participation in the match, Melina entered the ring, fired up and ready to fight. She beckoned Zelina into the ring, telling her to come and get the ass kicking that had her name on it.

The referee had started counting Zelina out of the ring as soon as she had become the legal participant. His count was soon at five, then six, with Vega walking around the ring, not wanting to get in.

"The count is at seven," Renee said, with the fans booing Zelina in the background. "If Vega gets counted out here, that's it for Cesaro and the Intercontinental title!"

"Eight!" the referee shouted.

"Nine!"

Left with no option, Vega slid into the ring at the last moment. Perez was on her in a flash. Being roared on by the fans, she stomped Zelina repeatedly before she had a chance to get to her feet.

"Look at Melina go!" Renee shouted. "Stiff right hands now to Vega's face! She's waited literally years for this, after Zelina stole an opportunity to join NXT from her."

"Vega saw an opportunity for herself and took it," Graves defended. "But now she's paying a price for it!"

Melina had always been know for her unique offensive moves, and she set about hitting move after move on Zelina. A split-legged neckbreaker followed a tilt-a-whirl into a back kick, and was then followed by a headscissors into the corner and an axe kick.

"Melina into a cover!" Graves called out.

"One!"

"Two!"

"Vega at two!" Renee called out as the shoulder came up just in time. "Melina Perez looks like she hasn't lost a step!"

Lying on the mat, Zelina got goosebumps as eighty thousand people rose to their feet for her friend, giving her a standing ovation for her fantastic display of offense.

Melina picked her opponent up and hit another couple of moves, before Vega capitalised on some poor positioning from the referee to stick a thumb in her eye.

"Brilliant!" Graves enthused as boos rained down.

Seeing Perez staggering around holding her face, Vega lined herself up carefully and lunged into a chop block, taking out what everyone knew by now was Melina's bad knee – a fact that was further emphasised by the knee pad she was wearing over her ring attire.

"Vicious from Vega," Renee said. "But smart strategy, you have to admit. Melina came into the match with a big target on that knee, and someone as cunning as Zelina Vega was always going to go after it."

During the process of working the knee, Zelina ended up dragging Melina to the outside. As she did so, she noticed a young woman in the second row wearing one of Melina's old WWE shirts.

With Melina down on the floor, Zelina held her bad leg up in the air and pointed to the fan. "Hey, you! You think this bitch is going to beat me?" she screamed.

The fan pushed forward to get in at the front row, shouting angrily at Zelina.

Zelina kicked Melina savagely in the knee. "How about now?" she yelled in the fan's face.

The crowd started booing again, but Zelina had eyes only for the Melina fan as she kicked Melina's knee again, making her scream in pain. "How about now?" she yelled again.

The fan was screaming right back at her, going bright red in the face with anger. "Want me to stop?" Zelina shouted, raising Melina's leg again.

Now the fans either side of the Melina girl were joining in, getting heated. Zelina turned and kicked Melina's knee again.

In the moment when her back was turned to deliver the kick, she felt a substantial amount of liquid hit her on the back and side, splashing all over her. Some of it also splashed onto Melina, and Zelina saw that it was cola. Someone had really launched a full cup of soda at her. It would be a bitch to wash out of her hair by the time she made it to the showers, but she couldn't have cared less. The fact that she had pissed someone off enough to do it was what mattered.

The action continued on the outside for a time, until Melina ended up down in front of Renee and Corey's commentary table. It was time for Zelina's Wrestlemania moment.

She climbed up on the apron, then up to the top rope, with her back to her opponent. The noise from the fans rose in anticipation of a big spot. Zelina had to trust that Melina would be up and correctly positioned.

Launching herself into the air for a corkscrew moonsault, she heard the cheer of the crowd, saw hundreds, if not thousands of camera flashes. She knew she had performed her part of the move perfectly, she just needed to feel Melina catching her to prevent a very nasty landing.

Sure enough, Melina's arms went under her, supporting her and taking away any danger as they both went down to the floor.

Some people near ringside tried to get a "Holy shit!" chant going, but it didn't catch on. In any case, Zelina didn't waste time getting Melina up and shovelling her back into the ring. By now, the two men were back up and in their corners.

"Vega hooks the leg!" Graves called.

One.

Two.

A cheer greeted Melina's kick out.

"Perez just saved Sami Zayn's championship," Renee said.

Frustration got the better of Zelina. After pounding the mat angrily, she got up and aggressively tagged Cesaro in.

"I'm not sure that was a smart move," Graves opined immediately. "Usually, Vega's strategies are impeccable, but she had Perez right where she wanted her then. Now Sami Zayn will enter the match."

"Not smart at all," Renee agreed. "More questions will be asked about Vega's decision making if they go on to lose."

The men worked the next couple of minutes of the match while the women got their breath back. Both Zayn and Cesaro hit their finishers, but they were only good for long two counts.

After kicking out of the Helluva Kick, Cesaro rolled out of the ring on the commentary side. Zayn decided to tag out to Melina.

This time, Zelina showed no hesitance to get in the ring. She ran in, but only succeeded in getting herself a roundhouse kick to the face.

Signalling for the fans to get loud, Melina appeared ready to put an end to the match. She attempted an Irish whip into the ropes on the commentary side of the ring, but Vega countered. In the blink of an eye, Cesaro was up on the apron. To the surprise and horror of everyone watching, he hit Melina right in the jaw with a stiff European uppercut.

"Oh, God!" Renee cried out in horror, as the crowd went wild with rage. It was the most dastardly act anyone had seen in a WWE ring for a long time.

Livid, Sami jumped down from his corner and sprinted around to attack Cesaro for what he had done.

But that didn't address the problem. Melina had been spun around and sent to her knees by the blow, not far from being knocked clean out. Zelina was ready to take advantage. Running forward, she jumped into the air and hit the Vega-rana.

Renee was shouting about Zayn attacking Cesaro. Graves had to shout over the top of her. "Vega hit it! Hooks the leg..."

One.

Two.

"No!" Renee cried.

Three.

The crowd howled their disapproval as the bell rang and Cesaro's music played, rather than Zelina's.

"No!" Renee repeated. "Cesaro is the champion! This is disgusting! He punched Melina square in the face, allowing Vega to get the win! What kind of vile human being...?"

"One who's willing to win at any cost," Graves said. "But I have to agree, what we just saw Cesaro do was reprehensible. No one could condone that."

Zelina had quickly fled the ring after getting the pin. She stood at the bottom of the entrance ramp with an evil grin on her face.

On the other side of the ring, Sami had seen the count go down, too late to do anything about it. Ever a man of character, he had immediately gone into the ring to check on Melina rather than continuing to attack Cesaro.

The new champion took the opportunity to grab his newly-won belt from the timekeeper and run away with it, around the ring to where Zelina was. The heat he was receiving had to be heard to be believed.

"Sami Zayn lost the Intercontinental Championship without being pinned," Graves said. "Further insult to injury."

"I'm not even sure if that's the story here," Renee said as Zelina and Cesaro celebrated their victory, rubbing it in the faces of the already irate audience. "Cesaro punched Melina in the face. That's the only reason she lost. As far as I'm aware, apart from being utterly morally reprehensible, that's also against the rules, but we got no call from the referee. Questions are going to be asked about this."

"I have to agree," Graves said, bringing the segment to and end as Vega and Cesaro began to leave. "Listen to these fans. They're not happy at all with what they just saw. Cesaro is leaving with the Intercontinental title, but will he be allowed to keep it?"


	81. Chapter 81

After each Raw and Smackdown episode, Lucy Thorne and Hunter Helmsley would have a meeting to discuss the show, running over what had gone well and what had not, and what the implications of those facts were moving forward. A similar meeting was of course required after Wrestlemania, but it hadn't been able to take place after the show as everyone had attended the traditional Wrestlemania after party, where everyone in the company got to blow off some steam after the company's busiest period of the year.

For that reason, the meeting had been set for noon on Monday, at the arena where Raw would be taking place that night.

Lucy and Hunter were sitting in the boss's office, talking across her desk. In front of Hunter was a copy of the Wrestlemania format, so that they could run down it item by item for discussion. Lucy had a notepad in front of her, which already had half a page of notes written on it in her neat script.

"Okay, what's next?" she asked.

Hunter glanced at the format. "Cesaro and Vega versus Zayn and Perez."

"Hmmm," Lucy pondered, leaning back in her chair. "Thoughts?"

"Well, we knew the finish would be controversial," Hunter said delicately, bearing in mind that it had been Lucy's idea to have Cesaro hit Melina. "We've attracted some negative attention on social media from people complaining about us having a man hitting a woman on our product."

"Ah, fuck 'em," Lucy said with a dismissive hand gesture. "No matter what you do, someone's going to complain about it. Fucking snowflakes."

It was one of the first times Hunter could remember hearing her swear; definitely the first time it had happened twice in one comment. A nerve had clearly been touched. "I get your point," he said carefully, "but we are being accused by some of promoting violence against women."

"What a load of bollocks," Lucy said, shaking her head. "Besides, I can remember watching many mixed tag team matches or spots with men wrestling women or hitting moves on them. I'm talking about people like Chyna, Lita, Trish Stratus. They were all in the ring with men. In fact, didn't Stephanie wrestle her old man once?"

"Yeah," Hunter conceded diplomatically. "But that was fifteen, twenty years ago. This is now, and our product is PG. What Cesaro did last night wasn't PG, and that's what we're getting grief for."

"Yeah, well," Lucy mumbled, leaving whatever sentence she had in mind unfinished.

"You're thinking about moving away from PG, aren't you?" Hunter asked. It wasn't the first time by any means that they'd had an exchange like this about Thorne's ideas skating very close to the line of what their product's rating allowed.

"Thinking about it, yes," Lucy said.

While Hunter didn't necessarily agree with Lucy on all of her decisions or what she saw as the future direction of the company, he did respect and appreciate the fact that she spoke frankly to him, and had done so right from the start. They were building a good working relationship, which gave him the leeway to speak his mind in turn.

"I strongly advise against that," he said. "A large proportion of our audience are of an age that would be excluded by moving away from PG, and many of our sponsors would pull their support if we made that change."

Lucy looked sour about it, but she had to accept the truth of what he had said. She also knew that she would face a lot of resistance from the board of directors if she tried to bring in that particular change.

"On the positive side," Hunter said in a more optimistic tone, "it did get some major league heat on Cesaro, which is what we wanted."

"Yes," Lucy said, brightening a little. "The fans were raging hard after the count went down. Melina really impressed me, too. I can't remember if it was Renee or Corey, but one of them said she looked like she hadn't lost a step. That summed it up perfectly for me."

Hunter nodded. "She was very impressive, there's no doubt about that. By the time she got to the back, though, her knee was blowing up like a balloon. They had to get some ice on it to help stop the swelling. I don't know that we're going to be able to use her if that's going to happen every time she wrestles. Based on what Amann said, she should be working pay-per-views only, or she's going to break down. I'm surprised she passed the medical to sign for us, honestly."

"Pay-per-views only we can work with," Lucy said simply. "She doesn't have to be in the ring every week, pushing herself to the limit. When I spoke with her, we agreed that this was only going to be a short run anyway, then she's going to go into management."

"Okay, but we need to take a look at her after her next match. If her knee blows up like that again, it might be time to sit her down and tell her that it's going to have to be management from now on. I agree it would be a shame, but if she can't go, she can't go."

"Alright, agreed," Lucy said. "Obviously I don't want to see the girl reinjure herself." She sat forward in her chair and made some notes about what they had discussed so far. "Now, Vega," she said when she looked up again. "I see now why she's been such a problem in the past."

The comment was worded awkwardly, but Hunter knew what Lucy meant by it. "You're thinking about having her wrestle more?" he guessed.

Lucy grimaced. "This is the thing, isn't it? I know it's something you and Vince had, uh, issues over before my arrival, and I know Zelina became frustrated with the way she was used kept being changed so often. After last night's match, I can see where your difficulties came from. She's an outstanding manager, but she's also good in the ring. She gets so much heat on herself, I was really, really impressed with her. The way she got that Melina fan involved, and the way she took it on herself to go on commentary during the match, I loved it."

"It's no secret that I was the one who pushed for her to be used as a wrestler, and I pushed the face turn she got at Summerslam last year. In hindsight, the face turn wasn't a good thing for her. She works a lot better as a heel. But I've not changed my opinion that she should be wrestling."

"We put her with Cesaro, though, to build him up," Lucy pointed out. "I had her come to the office and I told her that we wanted to use her as a manager. Now we're talking about going back on that. If I was her, I'd be bloody annoyed. I don't like to put my people in that kind of situation if it's avoidable."

Hunter chewed that one over for a moment. "What if we don't say anything to her?" he said thoughtfully.

"Explain?" Lucy prompted.

I'm thinking we keep her with Cesaro. There's no reason to break them up. She's doing a good job of building him with her promo work, just like we hoped, and they've not been together for long. So, what if we just book her in more matches without saying anything to her? Build it up slowly, you know?"

Lucy nodded slowly. "Yes. Yes, I like that. We planned to have her in a singles match against Melina at Backlash anyway, so we can take it from there."

"As I already said, I've always rated Vega highly. You've seen yourself now how good a job she does as a heel. If we are going to transition her back to wrestling, I recommend pushing her, maybe towards the end of the year. If we play it right, I think she could be the best heel we have, certainly among the women. I'd be interested to see her have a heel run with the belt."

Lucy made a note of that advice. "Alright, I'll back you on that. We'll see how she goes, but if she keeps up the kind of performance she gave last night, we'll get a push on her. But if we do, what happens with Cesaro?"

Hunter had an answer ready for that. "We're talking about later in the year, so we can do whatever we want. We can have her turn on him, we can have him turn face if that feels right. Hell, we could even have one of them traded to Smackdown if we want to split them up that way. And of course there's always the option of keeping them together. Just because she has her own stuff going on, they don't have to split. She had The Vega Cartel last time she was champion."

"I'll mark it for later discussion," Lucy muttered, adding another note. As she did so, another idea occurred to her. "We could put her with an NXT call up tonight, see how that goes."

"Not a bad idea," Hunter said after a moment. "I know when we talked last, you wanted one woman called up to Raw and one to Smackdown. Have you made a decision on who? Again, I'd like to stake a claim for Ember Moon. I think she's long overdue, to be honest."

"Agreed. I want Ember on Smackdown," Lucy said.

"Okay, great," Hunter smiled, appreciating the decisiveness. "And the other one?"

"For Raw I want Renata Ambrosini."

Hunter raised his eyebrows. There was no doubt that the twenty five year old Italian had a lot of talent, but she was lacking in experience compared to several other women on the development brand. She hadn't even had a run as NXT Women's Champion yet.

"That's early, Lucy," he said cautiously. "I think that's early. She's only been in NXT just over a year."

"I'm aware of that, but on the other hand, I think she has it all. She has a look I like, she has a style I like a lot, and she has boundless talent."

It was impossible for Hunter to argue with any of that. A model during her teenage years, Renata had decided to abandon the catwalk to pursue a career in wrestling. Standing at six foot one and built bigger than all of the other women in WWE apart from Nia Jax, she was certainly an imposing figure in the ring, and a real beauty as well. Added to her striking look was the no nonsense, smash mouth style that she employed in the ring. Her stuff looked like it hurt, because it often did. That was something Hunter and his people had tried to work with her on, to keep her opponents a bit safer in the ring.

Outside of the ring, Renata was a very straightforward person. What you saw was what you got. Hunter had noticed that while she wasn't rude or confrontational with colleagues in any way, she didn't seem to feel a particular need to make friends. She came to work, conducted herself professionally, then left. There were worse character traits to have in the wrestling business, he thought. Some people were loners, and enjoyed living that lifestyle.

The only real negative Hunter could see was the lack of experience. However, in his opinion, that was a big negative. He would have preferred to keep Ambrosini in NXT for at least another six months before even floating the idea of a call up for discussion.

"I agree with you on that," he said carefully. "But, again, she hasn't been in NXT for as long as I would like before bringing her up to the main roster."

"I hear your concerns," Lucy said. "Even so, my instincts are telling me something about that girl. I think she's going to be the real deal. One thing I've learned in life is to trust my instincts, Hunter. They rarely let me down. I'm going ahead with this, because I want it."

Hunter knew when to admit defeat. Lucy wasn't going to change her mind, and this wasn't a hill worth dying on. "Fair enough, it's your call. If she's going to debut tonight, I think putting her with someone experienced is a good idea. You know what the Raw after 'Mania crowd is like, anything could happen out there. You were talking about Vega, but let's have her take on Natalya," he suggested.

"No," Lucy said firmly. "Have her wrestle Vega."

"Your thinking being…"

"My thinking being that Renata is working face and she'll get a big reaction for her debut. Zelina has a lot of heat. Plus I like the huge difference in them physically. One of them six feet, the other four feet."

Hunter grunted a laugh at the joke about Zelina's height. "Zelina's got quite a bit of experience, even though she hasn't wrestled all that much for us. I'll pull her aside and tell her to make sure she takes the lead on this one."

"Excellent," Lucy said with a smile, before pointing at the Wrestlemania format with her pen. "What's next?"


	82. Chapter 82

"That's such a good look," Zelina said proudly, looking at Seth as he stepped off the tour bus with the Universal Championship over his shoulder.

Seth had won the red belt for the first time the previous night at Wrestlemania, in the penultimate match on the card. When he had walked back through the curtain with the belt, Zelina had been reduced to tears of pride and joy at what her man had achieved. The scene had been reminiscent of her Women's Championship victory at Summerslam, when it had been Seth waiting to be the first to congratulate her.

"It would look better on me," Cesaro joked, emerging from the bus behind Seth.

"Not a chance," Zelina insisted. "You might have it one day, but it'll never look that good on you."

"The girl talks a lot of sense," Seth said, leaning down to give her a light kiss on the lips.

"I think you should wrestle each other for it," Becky said, next off the bus. "Imagine that, with Zel caught in the middle. Pretty much everyone knows she's with Seth now, so the question would be where her loyalties would lie."

"I love that," Bayley said. She had been the first to get off the bus, followed by Elena. "Zel, you should pitch that to Lucy."

Zelina laughed, finding the idea amusing.

"I'm serious," Bayley said. "You should pitch it to her. It's a really good idea."

"Apart from one thing," Seth said, pointing at the Intercontinental Championship that Cesaro was carrying. "He has that, so he's obviously not going to feud with me any time soon."

"Even so, it's a good idea to pitch for the future," Bayley persisted.

"Maybe I'll mention it next time I speak to Hunter or something," Zelina said.

With that, Seth and Zelina took their cases and headed into the building, leaving Bayley and Elena to say their goodbyes and Cesaro and Becky trailing along behind, chatting away to each other.

"They seem to be getting quite close lately," Zelina observed quietly.

"What?" Seth asked.

"Becks and Cesaro. They're getting quite close to each other. Don't tell me you've not noticed?"

He grinned. "I've not noticed."

"Why am I not surprised?" Zelina said with a giggle. "Between you and me, I think something might be going on between them. I saw them looking quite cosy at one point at the after party last night."

"You didn't say anything," Seth said, raising his eyebrows a little.

"Uh, yes I did. You were just too drunk to remember."

Seth laughed. "Okay, you got me. But Becks and Cesaro? I just wouldn't see them as a couple."

"Maybe not, but good luck to them if they make each other happy. You can see how it would happen between them, with you and I together on the bus and Daga and Bay. It often ends up with Becks and Cesaro left talking to each other."

"I guess so," Seth shrugged as they approached the women's locker room. "Whatever the deal is, we can't speak to them about it until they choose to say something. Remember what it was like for us when we first got together, worrying about what people might say or think all the time."

"Oh, I know," she assured him. "I wasn't going to say anything to either of them or start asking questions. I was just telling you I think there's something going on there."

"Alright. Well, this is where I leave you," he said before leaning doing for another kiss. "Love you, muñeca."

"Love you too, baby."

They kissed again, then Zelina went into the locker room, turning and holding the door for Becky, who had just caught up to them. Only when she followed Becky across the locker room did she notice a surprise. "No way!" she exclaimed, seeing Ember Moon standing in conversation with Sonya Deville.

"Zel!" Ember exclaimed, immediately approaching her to share a hug.

"Are you on Raw now?" Zelina asked as they embraced each other warmly. She was delighted to potentially have someone she had gotten on well with in NXT joining their roster. "Please tell me you are."

"Sadly, no," Ember said as they parted. "I was told to come tonight and speak to Thorne. I am getting called up, but I'm on Smackdown, starting tomorrow night."

"Aww, I'm really pleased for you," Zelina said warmly. "I'd have loved to have you here with us, but the main thing is you're called up. It's long overdue."

"Thanks, girl. I'm not the only one coming up, though. You guys have a new addition as well."

"Oh, exciting times!" Zelina exclaimed happily. "Who is it, do you know?"

With perfect timing, the locker room door opened and Renata Ambrosini walked in, pulling a travel case behind her.

"Wait, really?" Zelina asked Ember quietly, not wanting to be overheard as the tall Italian walked in their direction, looking a little uncertain about where to put her things.

"Really," Ember confirmed. "Rumor is Thorne likes her a lot."

"She must do," Zelina muttered, trying to recall how long Renata had been on NXT. Her guess was a year at most; very soon for a call up. "Christ, she's tall, isn't she?" she whispered, watching the new arrival exchange a few words with Bayley, who smiled and offered her the use of the locker next to Becky's.

"Got to be six feet," Ember muttered back. "The guys love it."

"I bet they do," Zelina said. There was no doubt about it, Renata was a real stunner. Tall, luscious long black hair, a figure to die for and a gorgeous face, complimented by eyes that she knew guys would find captivating. "It's not fair is it?" she added with a chuckle.

"She's seems like a nice enough girl though, when you can get her to talk to you."

"What do you mean?" Zelina asked.

"She just doesn't say much. Like, when we were on the NXT weekend tours she would just sit by herself on the bus and not talk to anyone most of the time. I'd say it was strange, if she didn't seem perfectly happy. A loner, I guess."

"It takes all sorts, I suppose," Zelina said pragmatically. "I'm going to go introduce myself, see what I make of her."

Ember smiled. "Have fun. I'll speak to you later."

Zelina walked over Renata and gave a pleasant smile in greeting. "Hi, nice to meet you."

"Hello," Renata said simply. Her tone was friendly, but the short reply still put Zelina on the back foot. Further conversation hadn't really been invited.

"You're on Raw, then, obviously," she said a little awkwardly. "Congratulations."

"Thank you," Renata said politely. There was an Italian accent to the words, but it wasn't as pronounced as Elena's. Zelina already knew, having seen her performing on NXT, that her spoken English was a lot better also, even though Elena was improving her grasp of it of late, under the tutelage of Bayley.

"I've seen your work on NXT. I like what you've got going on," Zelina tried next, hoping to get something more than a basic answer in return.

"Thanks." Again, the tone was nice enough, but there was no attempt to make further conversation.

"Do you know who you're wrestling tonight?" Becky asked, standing next to them at her own locker.

"No. I have to go see Hunter. I'll do that now. Thank you for letting me change with you," Renata said, directing the gratitude to the group of four friends as a whole.

"You're welcome," Bayley said with one of her typically cute smiles.

As Renata headed for the door, Sonya raised her eyebrows. "Well, she's a real chatterbox, isn't she?"

"Leave her alone," Bayley scolded her. "I've been there, coming to work not knowing anyone, not expecting anyone to want to know you. If you're a shy person, it's horrible."

"According to Ember, she's a loner," Zelina said. "Apparently on NXT tours she would just sit on the bus and not talk to anyone, and she would be perfectly happy."

"Good for her then," Bayley said, a little more heatedly than was her nature. "If that's how she wants to be, it's up to her."

"Alright, Bay, calm down," Becky said gently. "No one's having a go at the girl."

Bayley sighed. "Sorry, guys. It just had me thinking back to my first day at the Performance Center. I'll never forget Paige making the effort to come over to me, engage me in conversation and walk me around the place to show me the ropes. Since then, I've always made a point of being approachable to new people when I was down there, and I wanted to do the same for Renata tonight. But I didn't mean to snap at you guys."

"I was trying to be nice," Zelina pointed out. "I did my best to make conversation with her."

Sonya said, "She's talking about what I said, Zel. Sorry, Bay. I was just trying to make a joke is all. I wouldn't have said anything mean to her."

"I know," Bayley admitted with an accepting smile. "Just keep in mind there's a very big chance she's going to wrestle one of us tonight. She's working face, and all four of us are heels. Whoever it is, just be there for her, okay?"

Half an hour later, Zelina had received a very similar message from Hunter Helmsley, along with the news that she was going to the one to wrestle Renata Ambrosini on her first main roster appearance. The news that she was wrestling again had come as a surprise, but she hadn't been about to argue with it. Getting back in the ring again at Wrestlemania had made her realise just how much she had missed it. Not only that, the chance to wrestle in front of the notorious Raw after 'Mania crowd was something unique, especially against a debutant, which would likely fire the fans up even more.

At Hunter's request, although she would have done so anyway, Zelina put talking over the match with Renata at the top of her agenda. If they were able to agree on some spots, they could give them to Tyson Kidd, who was going to be the road agent for the match, when they met with him to lay things out before the show. It was the first time she had been asked to take on a leading role with someone less experienced than herself. Wanting to rise to the responsibility, she was looking forward to it.

Having not seen Renata since her very brief appearance in the locker room, Zelina had to track her down. Checking to see if she had gone back to the locker room while Zelina had been with Hunter provided no luck. There was also no sign of her at the makeup area.

Catering was the next place Zelina checked, and there she finally found the Italian, just walking over to a table with a cup of coffee in hand. Standing there looking at her for a second, Zelina wanted to shake her head in admiration. With her jacket removed and dumped over the back of the chair, Renata was wearing a dark red crop top that showed off her impressive abs.

"Talk about body goals," Zelina mumbled to herself as she went over to fix herself a cup of herbal tea. While she fixed the drink, she glanced around the room and noticed Dolph Ziggler and Zack Ryder at one table and Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose at another, all trying to be discreet about eyeing up the new arrival. Married or not, they were all window shopping.

"No wonder she's fucking shy," Zelina said under her breath.

With her tea made, Zelina walked over to Renata's table, where she was now sitting and reading something on her phone while sipping her coffee.

"Hey, mind of I join you?" Zelina said with a smile.

Renata looked up from her phone. She took a second before motioning to the chair opposite her and saying, "Go ahead. Have you spoken with Hunter?"

"Yep," Zelina confirmed as she sat down, putting her cup of tea on the table. "I figured it was a good idea for us to get together and talk over some spots. We can run over them with TJ when we sit down with him later."

Before getting down to business, Zelina wanted to make another effort to get to know her new colleague a bit. She figured that maybe Renata would be more open to talking now that it was just the two of them, without a busy locker room full of women around them.

"You must be excited about the call up?" she tried as an ice breaker.

"Very," Renata said with a small smile. If it was true, she was doing a good job of hiding it.

"I remember my call up like it was yesterday. It was a lifetime dream come true for me," Zelina said, thinking that something had to get Renata to open up a bit.

"Yes, for me too. I was a model when I was a teenager, but I gave it up to do this. I had to make a choice which one I wanted most, and it was wrestling."

A model, Zelina thought. Certainly no surprise there. It must have been a big risk for someone living in Italy to give that up in the hope of making it to WWE. Getting noticed was hard enough for Americans, let alone people who lived overseas. Maybe that would be a good topic of conversation?

"You did well to get noticed by WWE. Is there much of a wrestling scene in Italy? I've not heard about it."

"I came over here when I was twenty. I took the money I had saved, left home and moved here. It was a big risk, but it paid off. Here I am, about to go on Raw."

"You left home and moved to America at twenty, by yourself?" Zelina asked, surprised.

"Yes. I was already living by myself in Italy anyway. I bought an apartment when I was nineteen."

"Didn't it bother you, moving to a totally different country by yourself, leaving everything and everyone behind?"

"No," Renata said, matter of fact. "I've never been much of a social person, as I'm sure you have already noticed. I like my own company. My English is good, I enjoy traveling, and I knew that I would have a better chance to make it as a wrestler if I came here, so I came."

"I did pick up on that," Zelina said with a comfortable smile. "I get that you like having time to yourself, but surely with the amount you're going to be on the road now, you'll be looking to have a friend to travel with?"

"Maybe, if I got to know the right person. I'm quite shy around people, so I keep myself to myself. Besides, people would find me boring. I don't go out to clubs or anything like that. I rarely drink. My hobbies are traveling and playing golf. I spend my nights on the road in my room reading, listening to music or watching TV."

"I think you'd be surprised how many on our roster are like that," Zelina said frankly. "Particularly before Thorne showed up, we were often too busy to spend much time going out. I know it's easier said than done, but you should try and get to know some of the girls. I know it'll sound like I'm being biased, but our little group are all really nice people. Bayley, Becky or myself will be happy to chat to you or help you with anything you need, so please, feel free to approach us. We don't bite."

"Thank you, I appreciate that," Renata said with her first real, broad smile of the night. "Now, shall we talk about the match?"


	83. Chapter 83

_Monday Night Raw – April 8th 2019_

Following the second match on Raw, Cesaro and Zelina were shown walking along a hallway backstage, both looking very pleased with themselves. He was carrying his newly-won Intercontinental Championship over his shoulder. A graphic in the corner of the screen told the audience that they were up next. A very loud chorus of boos came from the live audience in the arena.

Once she knew the show had gone to commercial, Zelina said, "You hear that? They're going to be all over us out there after last night."

"Good, that's what we want," Cesaro said. "This is the best crowd to do it in front of."

"I wasn't complaining. In before 'Fuck you, Vega!" makes a comeback," Zelina said, referencing what had been a popular chant during the Vega Cartel days."

"Let's hope so," Cesaro said as they entered Gorilla.

"Zelina, I want heat!" Lucy Thorne called out from where she was sitting next to Hunter, sounding fired up. With a largely British Raw after Mania crowd out there, it wasn't hard to figure out why she was up for it. "If people aren't seriously considering killing you out there, I'll want to know why, alright?"

"Get myself killed, got it," Zelina said with a little smile.

Moments later, their music was cued, being greeted by loud, angry booing. The stated objective of having Cesaro hit Melina with the uppercut had been to get genuine heat on him. It had clearly done its job.

As they made their way to the ring, looking smug about their actions at Wrestlemania, the commentary team briefly recapped the match over a backdrop of stills from the show. One of them showed the moment Melina had taken the decisive blow from Cesaro.

By the time the recap was over and the time came for Bruce Buffer to ask the crowd to welcome Cesaro, the new champion and his manager were already in the ring.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome..." Buffer began before Zelina walked over to him and asked for the microphone. He handed it over without resistance and made his exit.

"Thank you, I'll take it from here," Zelina said condescendingly. As she expected would be the case after everything she said, she was aggressively booed. Pressing on, she announced Cesaro.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the new Intercontinental Champion, the Swiss Superman, Cesaro!"

"I don't know how Cesaro can look pleased with himself," Renee said on commentary as he raised his title belt in the air, rubbing it in the faces of the fans, who of course booed him accordingly.

"That's right, look at it and weep," Zelina taunted them, having to raise her voice. "Yes, thanks to Sami Zayn overestimating his own ability, Melina Perez sticking her nose in my business, and Shane McMahon's ridiculous management, Cesaro is the Intercontinental Champion."

"I think it had more to do with Cesaro punching Melina in the face," Renee said.

"Would you be quiet?" Graves said to her.

"And let's not forget the best part of the whole thing," Zelina went on. "I was the one who got the fall, when I pinned Melina clean in the middle of the ring, one, two, three, without any help."

The crowd had seemed to be longing to chant something at her. One began to catch on. "Bullshit!" was the accusation they chose to throw at her.

"Well, you can hear what the fans think of that," Renee commented.

"You all saw it!" Zelina shouted angrily over the chant, storming around the ring. "You saw me beat her! I beat Melina! Although it wouldn't have mattered if I didn't, since Cesaro would have beat Sami Zayn's ass anyway." Her confrontational manner had the crowd riled up almost as much as what she had chosen to say.

"And let's not forget that Sami was undefeated for seven months before last night," Zelina went on. "But Cesaro and I soon took care of that. We took his streak, and we took his title."

"Look at Cesaro, nodding along, like he actually beat Sami Zayn," Renee said with distaste.

Sami's music hit, drawing a loud cheer from the crowd. They revelled in singing along to his theme as both he and Melina came out and headed for the ring, Melina noticeably limping with her bad knee. The commentators had the good sense to keep their mouths shut so that the viewers at home could enjoy the amazing atmosphere in the arena.

Only when the new arrivals were in the ring did Renee say, "The fans are having a great time here, but not much attempt from Zayn or Perez to join. They're clearly not happy at all, and understandably so."

As she waited for the crowd to settle down so that Sami could begin, Zelina could have been happier with her opening part of the promo. She had drawn plenty of heat and had managed get the fans to accuse her of bullshit, but she had hoped for more. Lucy Thorne had hoped for more. She was going to have to step it up.

"Let's get one thing perfectly clear," Sami said when he had a chance of being heard. "Cesaro, you didn't beat me last night. And Zelina, you didn't beat Melina, either."

"Uh, yeah, I did," Zelina interrupted in a tone that implied she was talking to a simpleton. "I know you're about as slow as all of these morons sitting out here, but when you make a pin and the referee slaps his hand three times on the mat, that's called a pinfall, and that's how you win wrestling matches."

"And the only reason you pinned Melina last night was Cesaro punching her in the face," Sami snarled. "Cesaro, you should be ashamed of yourself for hitting a woman, you disgusting son of a bitch."

Cesaro was shown grinning at the insult, feeling no remorse at all.

"You can stand there looking pleased with yourself, but what you need to realise is I have a guaranteed rematch that I'm contractually entitled to, and I'm cashing it in. I want my rematch right here tonight!"

"Good! I'd love to see justice be done tonight!" Renee cried over another loud cheer.

"You want to take on Cesaro here tonight?" Zelina asked, hyping up the idea for the fans, who cheered again in response. She turned and glared at the former champion. "No! Cesaro has thirty days to defend his title, which means that as his business manager, I get to pick the time and place, and it's certainly not going to be in this hole of a town, in front of pond life like that." She pointed out at the crowd as she delivered the insult.

After a fresh chorus of boos, an "Asshole!" chant started to break out. As it got louder Zelina realised it had probably replaced "Fuck you, Vega!" as the preferred choice of abuse to hurl at her. She decided that reacting to it was the best way to go.

Rounding on the fans, Zelina shouted over them, "Shut the hell up while I'm talking! No one cares about hearing you trying to put yourselves over, so why don't you kiss my ass?"

Melina took the microphone from Sami and made her first contribution to the promo. "I can't hear a word you're saying because you've got fifteen thousand people calling you an asshole!"

An even louder cheer went up as Renee laughed and Zelina scowled across the ring at her enemy. Inside, she was delighted at her friend's intervention, imagining that it would make the chant a lot more likely to happen in future.

"Cesaro's not the only one who wants a rematch," Melina went on. "Vega, you didn't beat me by yourself. You couldn't beat me by yourself. The only reason I lost to you, as everyone knows, was Cesaro hitting me, which should have been a disqualification, by the way."

"That's a good point, Corey," Renee said. "Under mixed tag team match rules, Cesaro hitting Melina was an illegal move and should have been a disqualification, but for some reason the referee didn't call it."

"For that reason," Melina said, "I'm challenging you to a one on one match tonight!"

While the crowd went off again, Zelina was shown saying something to Cesaro and laughing. "Please," she scoffed a moment later. "You could barely limp your wrinkly, one legged old add down the ramp, let alone wrestle me. So, you know what? I'm going to show you some mercy and say no, you get no match tonight."

"That's very admirable of Zelina Vega," Graves opined.

"Vega hasn't done anything admirable in her life," Renee scoffed. "She's afraid of facing Melina without any backup, let's just call it how it is."

Before Melina could respond, Shane McMahon's music hit, to another ovation. The Raw commissioner walked quickly out onto the stage, talking over his music. "Alright, I've heard enough. I'm going to take care of this situation right here and now. Cesaro, I thought long and hard overnight about overturning the decision that referee Dan Engler made at the end of your match last night because when you hit Melina, it should have been a disqualification. But, having spoken to Engler, I believe that he made an honest mistake, which can happen. We all make mistakes in life, and referees are no different. Therefore, the decision stands, and Cesaro is the Intercontinental Champion."

Unhappy, the fans booed the announcement.

"I know, I know," Shane said, trying to placate them. "It doesn't make me happy, trust me, but as commissioner I sometimes have to make decisions that are rather unpleasant. This was one of them. However, Cesaro being the champion is one thing, how long he might get to keep it is another. Zelina, you think you're really clever, coming out here talking about Cesaro having thirty days to defend his title. Contractually, that might be true, but the problem you've got is I can make an Intercontinental Championship match whenever I want, and I think tonight, in front of the craziest group of fans of the year, might be the time to have one!"

"Yes! Are we going to see Cesaro and Zayn tonight?" Renee asked over yet another loud cheer.

"Therefore, in tonight's main event, you, Cesaro, will put the Intercontinental Championship on the line against Sami Zayn! But that's not all," Shane said over the top of an attempted "Yes!" chant. "Melina, I understand that you want to face Vega tonight, but you and I both know you're not cleared to compete after the damage that was done to your knee last night. So you won't be facing Vega tonight, but you will face her in four weeks at Backlash."

Melina looked satisfied with the announcement, sending some threatening words in Zelina's direction off microphone. For her part, Zelina looked a long way away from excited about the prospect of a one on one confrontation with the woman who was out for her blood.

"But that's not all," Shane repeated, a smile on his face.

"Now what?" Graves demanded. "Hasn't he done enough damage?"

"Zelina, we're going to see your client in action tonight, and we're also going to see you in the ring, against an opponent of my choosing. My advice to you is get that angry expression off you face and go get changed because your match is coming up soon."

As Shane's music played and he left the stage, Graves started to bring the segment to a close by complaining about how unfair the whole thing was. Zelina was shown doing the same to Cesaro.

Renee said, "Cesaro – Zayn tonight for the Intercontinental Championship, and we're going to see Zelina Vega in action. But who is she going to face?"

* * *

Half an hour later, that was again the question on everyone's minds. Zelina had completed her second entrance of the night and stood waiting in the ring for the arrival of her opponent. She looked furious about the predicament she had been put in by Shane McMahon.

When her music faded out, most of the fans were on their feet, looking towards the stage. The way Shane had made the match hadn't made much of a secret of the fact that her opponent was going to be either someone making a return or an NXT call up.

"Who's it going to be?" Renee asked excitedly.

Renata Ambrosini's music hit, being greeted by loud reaction that contained surprise as much as delight. The fans also appeared to think this particular call up was early.

"Oh, it's Renata Ambrosini!" Renee shouted.

"Renata Ambrosini from NXT!" Graves joined in as she walked out onto the stage wearing a dark blue sports bra and matching shorts. "Renee, this is one of the most physically dominating women to have ever appeared in NXT, and now she's here on Raw!"

"And she's about to take on Zelina Vega!" Renee added delightedly as the much smaller woman was shown looking like she had seen a ghost.

Renata had marched quickly to the ring. She climbed up onto the ring apron and stepped through the ropes, then walked over to stand in front of Zelina, towering over her and glaring at her like a hawk surveying its prey.

"Look at the size difference!" Graves exclaimed, panicking on Zelina's behalf. "Vega barely comes up to her shoulders!"

Raising her hands defensively, Zelina started to try and beg off from the match. Ready to get the contest underway, the referee stepped in between them, telling them to separate before he could ring the bell.

Renata turned to walk over to her corner. As soon as her back was turned, Zelina took advantage, running at her and blasting a double axe handle smash into her back. The impact had no effect other than to make Renata stop walking. Zelina tried the move again, once more having no noticeable effect on her opponent. It was like a fly annoying a lioness, and the result was about the same.

Rounding on Vega, Ambrosini gave her a stiff backhand to the face, sending her flying across the ring, clean off her feet.

"Look at the power!" Renee called out over the cheering crowd.

After Zelina got up, Renata grabbed hold of her arm with her left hand and yanked her into a stiff clothesline, the impact audible throughout the arena.

"My God, that was like getting hit with a tree trunk!" Graves exclaimed. "Zelina could be out cold already."

"No, Zelina's getting up again," Renee said. "Although, I'm not sure how smart a decision that is."

Next, Ambrosini whipped Vega hard into a corner of the ring, sending her crashing into the turnbuckles. The noise from the crowd rose; they knew a signature move was coming. As Zelina staggered out of the corner, Renata had ran and hit the ropes. She was now coming in like a freight train, and connected with a powerful big boot to the face. Again, there was an audible smack with the impact.

"There it is!" Renee cried. "Vega's head nearly came off her shoulders! That's got to be all!"

Renata made a cover, causally hooking a leg. The entire crowd joined in with the count.

"One!"

"Two!"

Zelina's shoulder popped up so late that some people counted three out loud.

"Vega kicked out!" Graves exclaimed.

"How did she do that?" Renee asked incredulously.

Although she was surprised not to have already won, Renata wasted no time getting back on Zelina. After picking her up, she whipped her into the ropes. However, as Zelina came back towards her opponent, she was able to duck a clothesline, hit the ropes again and lunge full force into a chop block, felling the much larger woman like an oak tree.

"Wow! I can't believe that!" Graves called.

As she got back up, Zelina was pleased at the shocked reaction from the crowd. As she had predicted earlier in the day when they had been laying out the match, the expectation had been that it would be a squash match and she would eat a quick pin from the debutant. The fans now realised that wasn't going to be the case.

For the next few minutes, Zelina worked the leg that she had attacked with the chop block, doing everything she could to inflict damage on it and attempting a couple of submission holds. Ambrosini was able to reach the ropes both times, but damage was being done.

Graves said, "It doesn't matter how tall or how powerful someone is, if they can't stand up, they're not going to win a fight."

"Renata Ambrosini is really struggling here," Renee had to admit.

After the latest hold, Renata awkwardly lifted herself to her knees. Against Zelina, it was the worst position to be in.

"Here it comes!" Graves yelled as Vega hit the ropes.

Her intention was to hit the Vega-rana and put an end to the contest. Unfortunately for her, Renata caught her as she jumped into the air, turning the attempted finishing move into a powerful spinebuster.

"What a spinebuster!" Renee said. "Vega might have had her back broken."

Renata got up and raised her right hand in the air, signalling for her finishing move.

"Zelina, look out!" Graves shouted.

Vega slowly got to her feet. As she stumbled around to face Ambrosini, the Italian grabbed her around the throat.

Graves screamed in horror as Zelina was lifted high into the air, almost above Renata's head height.

"One arm chokeslam!" Renee called as Zelina went thundering to the mat. There was no doubt about the outcome of the cover.

"One!"

"Two!"

"Three!"

"What a win for Renata Ambrosini," Renee said as the crowd cheered their satisfaction.

Melina was shown watching the action on a monitor backstage. She looked pleased with what had transpired.

"Not a good night for Zelina Vega," Graves said unhappily while Renata celebrated the victory. "And that makes it a good night for Melina Perez. They'll face each other in four weeks at Backlash."


	84. Chapter 84

A few hours prior to the Backlash pay-per-view, Melina had asked if she could have a private chat with Zelina before they met up with road agent Sam Monte to lay out their match. Zelina had of course agreed to her good friend's requested without question, and they had gone and found a quiet hallway area away from the locker rooms and the catering area.

"You okay?" Zelina asked once they had some privacy.

"Actually, I am, which is kind of a surprise," Melina said with a thin smile.

Zelina raised her eyebrows. "That's a surprise? Why?"

"Well," Melina said, slowly breaking eye contact for a moment to look down at the ground, clearly struggling with what she wanted to say. "I had a consultation with Dr Amann a couple of weeks ago about my knee. They were really concerned about the way it swelled up after our match at Wrestlemania, and how I couldn't walk all that well on it for a few days afterwards. They made me do some more evaluations, intensive training and stuff, and it swelled up again just the same."

"I remember noticing you were limping again for a few days at live events a couple of weeks back," Zelina said tenderly, worried about where this might be heading. "I didn't want to ask any questions, but I was concerned."

Melina grimaced. "Yeah, so were WWE. Amann sent a report to Thorne, and she had me sit down with her earlier. Long story short, they've made the decision that there's too much of a risk that I'm going to seriously injure myself if I keep on wrestling, so tonight is going to be my last match."

"Oh, Mel, I'm sorry," Zelina sighed, feeling desperately sad for her friend and grabbing her into a hug.

"Thank you," Melina said with resignation in her voice. After their brief embrace, she went on. "On the positive side, Thorne said there's no issue with WWE honouring the one year contract I sighed. I passed the medical they gave me before I signed it, so I guess she would have felt bad if she ordered my release."

"So they're going to have you managing?"

"Yeah. I don't know who I'm going to be with yet. Thorne's got creative on the case to come up with something for me. I know it's not going to be Sami, but he doesn't need a manager does he?"

"No, not really," Zelina agreed. "I'm just glad to hear that Thorne was good with you about it. It's awful news that you have to stop wrestling, but you will make a great manager. I don't doubt that for a minute."

Melina smiled. "Maybe I can learn a thing or two from you. You're the best in the business at it."

"Don't, you'll start me blushing," Zelina said bashfully before quickly moving the conversation on. "I guess they're taking you off screen for a while before they put you with someone as a manager?"

"Yeah, a month or so. Honestly, I'm not worried about that. The only thing on my mind is getting through the match tonight without any issues. All this talk about my knee, consultations and everything, it's gotten me pretty anxious about it."

"I get that," Zelina said sympathetically. "Don't worry, I'll obviously take care while we're out there. I'll have to work your knee; it would look stupid if I ignored it since they had me make a point of saying last week that I was going to go after it tonight and try to cripple you. But I'll be careful, I promise."

"Thanks, Zel. I love you, girl," Melina said, looking cheered up by the conversation they'd had.

"I love you too. Come on, let's go find Sam."

BREAK

WWE Backlash – May 4th 2019

Ahead of the Vega – Perez matchup, a video package detailing how their intense rivalry had built over the past couple of months was played. The hook for the fans was Melina finally having the chance to issue Vega with the serious ass kicking she was owed after screwing Melina out of the chance to sign for NXT, taking the opportunity for herself.

Melina was first to enter. Her theme music was greeted by a warm reception. The crowd reactions throughout the program had been more about hating Vega than supporting Perez, although Melina naturally received cheers as a result.

"Melina Perez looks fired up, Corey," Renee observed.

"She does, and I understand why, but as I've been saying for the past several weeks, I question the wisdom of Melina getting into a match with Zelina Vega. You see there the knee brace that Melina is wearing. That's going to act like a red rag to a bull once the match gets under way. We already saw Vega go after the knee at Wrestlemania, and you know as well as I do what the promise Zelina made this past Monday night was."

"Yes, I remember all too well," Renee confirmed with distaste in her tone. "Vega said she was coming to Backlash with the intention of crippling Melina Perez. As repulsive as that is, I don't hesitate to believe that Zelina meant every word."

The commentary paused while Bruce Buffer announced Melina.

"Introducing first, from Los Angeles, California, Melina Perez!"

With the announcement made, Graves said, "Having said that, bad knee or not, Melina Perez isn't someone to underestimate." Perez went through her trademark entrance, performing the splits on the ring apron. "You can see there, she's just as athletic as she ever was, and this is a former Women's and Divas Champion we're talking about here."

"Melina is known for having some of the most unique offense in wrestling," Renee said. "She can pull off some truly incredible moves. One thing Vega absolutely has to avoid is the Last Call. If Perez hits that…"

Renee was interrupted by Zelina's music hitting, drawing aggressive boos from the crowd.

"Woah. Listen to that reaction for Zelina Vega," Graves said. "What's wrong with these idiots?"

"Nothing's wrong with them. They know what a no good human being Vega is. What kind of person would intercept an email intended for someone who had been training them to wrestle, someone who had put a roof over their head, and reply to it pretending to be that person in order to try and gain an opportunity for themselves?"

Before Graves could answer, Buffer started his announcement.

"And her opponent, from Queens, New York, Zelina Vega!"

"Someone ruthless," Graves replied to Renee's question. "That's exactly what Zelina Vega is, and Melina Perez is about to find that out here tonight. I've got a feeling that Zelina isn't going to be all that interested in getting a three count or a submission here, this thing is too personal for that now."

Zelina got into the ring, delivered her and Cesaro's double fisted pose for the crowd, then turned and glared at Melina, fixing her eyes on her prey. As soon as her music faded out, the referee called for the bell to be sounded.

Unlike some matches, this one started with no time being wasted on grandstanding or tentative confrontation. Perez rushed across the ring and went right after Vega, flailing away with right hands.

"Look at Melina go!" Renee called. "Melina, with so much anger, frustration and betrayal to let out, hammering away at Zelina Vega!"

Perez's punches had backed Vega into the corner. The referee had ordered Melina to bring it out of the corner, and had begun a count when he was ignored. At the count of four, Melina finally took a few steps back, with the referee shouting at het to listen to his instructions if she didn't want to be disqualified.

Vega attempted to take advantage of the referee's involvement by running at her opponent. However, Perez saw her coming and was able to turn the situation to her advantage by hitting a flapjack.

"Vega sent down hard," Graves said. "And she rolls quickly out of the ring."

With a dismissive hand gesture, Zelina appeared to suggest she was done with the match. The fans booed her for her cowardice.

Holding her back to sell the flapjack, she started walking around the ring, heading for the entrance ramp.

In the ring, the referee had started a count. Perez, though, was not going to consider accepting a win by count out, with Zelina consequently escaping without a beating. She was quick to roll out of the ring and run after her foe, with the fans roaring her on.

"Look at Melina go!" Renee exclaimed.

"Zelina, look out!" Graves shouted.

Perez came sprinting around the corner of the ring, so fast that she was unable to react when Vega spun around and swung a clothesline, connecting with her upper chest and knocking her down hard.

"Brilliant!" Graves cried. "Vega suckered her in!"

"That's the difference between you and me!" Zelina shouted, tapping a finger against the side of her head to signify greater brain power.

Vega kicked Perez hard in the side. "You want to face me? You're going to pay! You're going to pay!" She was running her mouth, as was often the case when she had the upper hand.

Predictably, the next thing Zelina did was attempt to go after Perez's knee. Lifting her leg, she looked ready to deliver a kick to the injured joined.

So obvious was the attack, Perez was ready for it. She countered by delivering an upwards kick of her own from the floor, connecting with Vega's knee.

With the momentum in her favour, Perez got the action back in the ring before the referee could count them out. To the delight of the crowd, she proceeded to beat Zelina all around the ring for the next few minutes, with her unique brand of offense.

Unsurprisingly, it was the bad knee that halted Melina when she was in full flow. She connected with one of her signature moves, a headscissors in the corner followed by an axe kick, but hitting the kick appeared to cause her a great deal of pain.

"Oh no!" Renee cried desperately as Melina hobbled into the middle of the ring, half crouched, holding her knee. "It looks like Melina's knee gave out on that axe kick!"

Zelina was shown standing in the corner, looking roughed up by the beating she had been taking, but now with a cruel smile on her face.

"Look at Zelina," Graves said. "She smells blood. Look at her go..."

Vega launched herself out of the corner, slamming into Perez's knee with a chop block – one of her signature moves.

Screaming in pain, Melina rolled around on that mat, holding her knee with both hands.

Reinvigorated, Zelina moved fast, hitting the ropes before dropping an elbow onto the injured leg. Her next move was to start unfastening Melina's knee brace.

"Now wait a moment," Renee said, showing some anger. "Vega taking off that protective knee brace."

"This is what Zelina told us was going to happen, Renee," Graves said. "She promised Perez that if she got in the ring with her, she would cripple her. And here we go!"

Vega dropped another elbow, now onto the more exposed knee. It set the tone for the next few minutes of action, with every cold and calculated attack focused on the damaged joint.

The first real possibility for a finish arrived when Vega was able to lock in a figure four leglock.

Melina's agonised screams seemed to be the only sound in the arena as the fans watched on in horrified silence. They hadn't wanted to see the match go like this in any way.

For almost a minute, Perez was stuck in the incredibly painful hold before she managed to get herself into a position to try and roll over onto her stomach.

Renee said, "If Melina can manage to get over onto her stomach, the pressure will be reversed onto Vega."

Moments later, to a loud cheer, exactly that happened. Instantly, Zelina was the one yelling in pain, desperately reaching out towards the bottom rope, just inches from her fingertips.

Loving seeing Vega suffer, the fans were cheering and some started chanting, "Tap!"

To their disappointment, Zelina was able to pull her way slightly closer to the ropes and grasp the bottom one with her right hand.

As the fans groaned in disappointment, the referee supervised the separation of the two competitors.

Both women struggled to their feet, selling the effects of the figure four.

Perez was the one who managed to take the upper hand, hitting a shoulder jawbreaker for a near fall, followed by a snapmare driver for an even closer near fall.

By this point, Melina wasn't selling the fact that she was struggling with her knee. Even so, she was able to perform a nip-up to her feet, bringing the crowd to their feet in turn, cheering loudly, willing her on.

"Melina reaching down deep!" Renee said loudly. "And here it comes! The Last Call!"

Vega was slammed hard on her back by Perez's finishing move. She was able to transition smoothly into a pinning combination, with the fans joining in with the count, sure of the victory.

"One!"

"Two!"

The fans cried out in frustration and disappointment when Vega kicked out.

"How did Zelina kick out of that?" Graves asked, relieved, but surprised.

Getting so close to winning but not getting the job done seemed to have deflated Melina. She slapped the mat in frustration and struggled back to her feet.

Despite having just taken a finisher, Zelina was back up at the same time, and launched herself into the air to deliver a tornado DDT.

"Picture perfect DDT," Graves called. "That could be it right there."

Vega scrambled into a cover.

One.

Two.

To the relief of the audience, Melina was able to get a shoulder up. She hadn't lost, but she looked beaten.

Vega got back up. Despite the kick out, she looked confident that she had the match won. With Perez struggling to even rise to her knees, Zelina ran and hit the ropes.

Leaping into the air, things started to go in slow motion for Zelina. She hit the Vega-rana, knowing that it was the final move her close friend was going to take as a wrestler. After connecting with the move, she made a cover, feeling tears threatening to come.

"Thank you, Zel," Melina said as the count was made.

The victory was bittersweet in the extreme for Zelina. She kept character, though, celebrating and rubbing the win in the fan's faces.

With that done, before leaving the ring, she walked over to Melina, who hadn't moved since taking the pin. While making it look like she was leaning down to say something nasty, she actually said, "I love you. Don't thank me, I should thank you."

"No. Thank you for a great final match."

Touched by the kind words, Zelina left the ring. Melina's career as a wrestler was sadly over, and with it their program. It made Zelina wonder what was next for her, with the brand new British Invasion pay-per-view coming up fast.


	85. Chapter 85

The British Invasion pay-per-view was a matter of hours away. London's Wembley Stadium was all set up and ready for the fans to arrive, on what had thankfully turned out to be a warm summer's day, with barely a cloud in the sky. The weather had been one of the concerns about having an event in an outdoor stadium in England, but it didn't look like being a problem.

What hadn't been a concern was filling the stadium. Thanks in part to the increased enthusiasm among the audience since Lucy Thorne's takeover of WWE, tickets had been completely sold out within minutes. The hype around the build up to the event had been second only to Wrestlemania, and it had been infectious to the superstars. By the time they had arrived backstage on the big day, Seth and Zelina had been buzzing. They had quickly found at that they weren't the only ones.

Lucy Thorne had ordered everyone to assemble in a conference room for her to address them. She had started her speech by thanking everyone for their hard work since she had taken charge, before moving on to say what an honour it was for her personally to be able to bring such a big WWE event to her country.

"After the pre-show," she went on, "we'll all be going out and assembling on the stage. We have an opera singer to perform Jerusalem, which in my opinion should be the English national anthem. If things are coordinated properly, at the end of the anthem there will be a fly past by a Lancaster bomber from the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, in honour of all the brave bomber crew members who served and lost their lives during world war two, including my grandad, William Thorne."

Listening in silence along with everyone else, Zelina found it quite touching that Lucy had organised for that to happen. It was more than obvious how much it meant to Thorne, who made no secret of being a very proud and patriotic person. It was no wonder one of her first big decisions as chairwoman had been to make this British Invasion event happen.

A few minutes later, after Lucy had finished speaking and dismissed everyone to go about their preparations, she end up standing near to Lucy and Seth in the line to get out of the door. Zelina decided to speak up, considering that she had a fairly good relationship with the boss at this point.

"That's a really nice touch, Lucy, getting that bomber to fly over in memory of your grandad," she said with a smile.

"Thanks, Zelina, it'll mean a lot to me," Lucy said warmly.

"Your grandad served in the war, so you must have never met him?" Seth asked, considering the math involved.

"No, I didn't. He lost his life during the war. Actually, the story is that my dad was conceived the day my grandad flew the mission that he ended up not coming back from. I don't know how true that is, but I do know that his plane was shot down over Germany with the loss of everyone on-board."

"I'm sorry," Seth said.

"There were thousands more like him, and not just the British," Lucy said with a slightly faraway look on her face. "It's important that their sacrifice isn't forgotten. So, tonight, we honour them."

Zelina slowly nodded her appreciation and agreement.

"You mentioned something called Jerusalem," Seth said next. "And you said you think it should be the British anthem?"

"English anthem," Lucy corrected. "I'm English. Jerusalem is a hymn about being proud of England and being English. I don't care about that God Save The Queen bollocks. The England cricket team uses Jerusalem for their anthem, so that's good enough for me."

They reached the door at the end of Lucy's little diatribe. Following her out of the room, Seth and Zelina exchanged a glance, both thinking that saying anything negative about England or the English people in earshot of Lucy would be a sure-fire way to get on her bad side.

* * *

Due to being among the first to arrive for the procession out onto the stage, Zelina and Cesaro ended up standing near to Lucy Thorne and her husband, who had joined her on this special occasion. He was pretty much what Zelina had imagined – good looking and smartly dressed, with an air of money around him. She hadn't had the opportunity to speak to him, but he seemed pleasant enough.

"This place is going to be rocking later," Cesaro said quietly to Zelina while they waited for the others to file onto the stage behind them.

She smiled, looking up at her on-screen client. She had needed to stand with him instead of Seth as they were obviously appearing in front of the audience, and would be seen on camera. Some effort had to be put into keeping kayfabe. "I hope it's rocking for the Money in the Bank match," she said.

Having no match of her own, Zelina's role on the card was to be ringside managing Cesaro in the men's Money in the Bank ladder match. To keep out of the way of the hectic action, she would spend most of it sitting at the commentary table. Hearing her talk trash on commentary was one of the things the fans apparently liked best about her character anyway.

Seth was also in the Money in the Bank match, having lost the Universal Championship at Backlash, only a month after winning it at Wrestlemania. Zelina still felt a little salty about her man being booked like that, but she knew there was nothing that could be done about it.

When everyone was assembled, JoJo asked the crowd to be upstanding for the singing of Jerusalem and introduced the opera singer who was going to perform it. Zelina missed the guy's name, busy looking around the stadium at the crowd. The music started, so she faced forward to respectfully listen to the song.

_"And did those feet in ancient time,_

_Walk upon England's mountains green:_

_And was the holy Lamb of God,_

_On England's pleasant pastures seen!_

_"And did the Countenance Divine,_

_Shine forth upon our clouded hills?_

_And was Jerusalem builded here,_

_Among these dark Satanic Mills?_

_"Bring me my Bow of burning gold;_

_Bring me my Arrows of desire:_

_Bring me my Spear: O clouds unfold!_

_Bring me my Chariot of fire!_

_"I will not cease from Mental Fight,_

_Nor shall my Sword sleep in my hand:_

_Till we have built Jerusalem,_

_In England's green & pleasant Land."_

With almost perfect timing, only moments after the impressive operatic finish to the performance, Zelina heard the sound of a plane approaching. Looking up, she saw an enormous machine with four engines fly directly overhead, making its way slowly over the stadium. She heard some of the crowd breaking out into spontaneous applause. Knowing what the moment meant to Lucy Thorne, Zelina glanced at her, just in time to see her crossing herself, eyes closed for a moment of private reflection.

"Touching," Cesaro commented quietly.

"Yeah," Zelina muttered, taking a moment to think of her late father. Loss came to everyone in life, sadly.

The Lancaster bomber had disappeared from sight. British Invasion's opening video package began to play; the cue for everyone to leave the stage.

* * *

The men's Money in the Bank match had been going on for twenty five minutes. It had easily been the match of the night so far. The crowd were well into it, pulling mainly for Seth and Samoa Joe, even though the latter was supposed to be a heel character.

The latest move for the highlight reel was a Curb Stomp which Seth hit on Drew McIntyre after jumping from one of the higher rungs of a ladder.

"What a Curb Stomp that was!" Graves called. "Rollins now with a chance to go up and get the briefcase."

"I notice you've not said anything about Seth Rollins, Zelina," Renee commented.

"Why don't you say something about Seth Rollins?" Zelina snapped. "It's your job to call the match, not mine. Seth's going up the ladder!"

It was true. But before Seth could reach the top of the ladder, Shinsuke Nakamura rushed back into the ring, grabbed Seth by the leg and pulled him off the ladder.

They were the only two men on their feet. They fought for a minute, until Nakamura was able to hit a Kinshasa knee strike.

"Nakamura got the Kinshasa!" Renee called. "There's no one around to stop him if he chooses to... Yes, Nakamura's repositioning the ladder. Here we go!"

"Where's Cesaro?" Zelina demanded. She was briefly shown standing up behind the commentary table.

Her client was on the opposite side of the ring, using the apron to pull himself up.

"Come on, Cesaro!" Zelina yelled. "Get in there, quick!"

Nakamura had almost reached the top of the ladder. He stretched upwards towards the briefcase, but it was just out of his reach. He had to go higher.

As Shinsuke climbed up to the next rung, Cesaro made it back into the ring. He walked up behind Nakamura and yanked him hard off the ladder, hitting him with a European uppercut as he fell.

"Yes! Yes!" Zelina shouted. "Go up! Go get it! Go!"

Exhausted, Cesaro started to slowly climb the ladder. He made it up the first two rungs before Joe appeared back in the ring.

The big man climbed up the opposite side of the ladder. Swinging his huge right fist, he threw a stiff punch between the ladder's rungs, connecting flush with Cesaro's face and knocking him off the ladder.

"No!" Zelina screamed angrily. "I've got to go," she added a second later.

"Wait, where's she going?" Renee demanded.

"Zelina Vega into the ring," Graves called.

Zelina marched up behind Joe, who had started lumbering his way up the ladder. He didn't react to the warnings being shouted by the crowd before she hit him with a low blow.

"Damn Vega. Damn her," Renee said angrily as the big man collapsed to the mat, holding his balls with both hands in agony. The crowd were booing loudly."Joe looked like he had the match won!"

Zelina looked over at Cesaro, who was only just starting to stir. Seth was also in the ring, beginning to show signs of life.

Seeing that, Zelina looked up at the briefcase, then quickly started climbing the ladder.

"What's Vega doing now?" Renee asked, even more annoyed than before.

"Taking matters into her own hands, it looks like," Graves said.

Vega had quickly scaled the ladder all the way to the top. Stretching upwards, she was able to grab the briefcase in both hands. The fans were still booing her loudly, but that couldn't stop her. She unhooked the case and clutched it to her chest.

"Vega wins!" Corey shouted.

"Of course Vega doesn't win, you idiot," Renee snapped. "The match doesn't end until one of the men in it has the briefcase in his possession. Zelina's going to literally hand the win to Cesaro. Completely pathetic, this is."

Zelina quickly climbed back down the ladder, looking over at Cesaro, who had just gotten up.

On the other side of the ring, Seth also regained his feet.

Standing in between both men, holding the briefcase close to her chest, Zelina looked from one to the other.

Realising the dilemma she was in, the noise from the crowd rose significantly.

"Look at this, Renee!" Graves exclaimed. "Zelina's got the briefcase, but who is she going to give it to? She's got her client, Cesaro, on one side of her and her boyfriend Seth Rollins on the other side. What a spot she's put herself in here!"

Cesaro held out both hands, shouting at Zelina to hurry up and give him the briefcase.

"I can't believe Seth wants to win like this," Renee opined.

Even as she was saying it, Seth held out a hand, indicating his willingness to accept the briefcase. "Give it to me, babe!" he shouted.

Zelina looked from one to the other again, looking torn by the decision that faced her.

"La Arquitecta is literally the kingmaker here," Renee said. "But who is she going to choose?"

THE END

* * *

_A/N: This story is dedicated to all of the courageous British airmen who lost their lives during the war. "Never before was so much owed by so many to so few." – Winston Churchill_

_My deepest gratitude to everyone who has read and supported this story. You guys have smashed the support from beginning to end, and it has really meant the world to me._

_As you have just seen, there is definitely potential for me to return to this world some day if I so choose. But the question is, who did Zelina give the briefcase to?_


End file.
